Tropical countries continue to lose their forests at a very high rate, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned in a new issue of the "State of the World's Forests 2001", which was published today..."The countries with the highest net loss of forest area between 1990 and 2000 were Argentina, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Indonesia, Myanmar, Mexico, Nigeria, the Sudan, Zambia and Zimbabwe."...FAO said that the major causes for the loss and degradation of forests are: conversion to other land uses (mainly agriculture), pests and diseases, fire, overexploitation of forest products (industrial wood, fuelwood), poor harvesting practices, overgrazing, air pollution and storms...Illegal forest practices include: the approval of illegal contracts with private enterprises by public servants; harvesting of protected trees by commercial corporations; smuggling of forest products across borders; processing forest raw materials without a licence.