Forests in El Salvador account for just over 15% of the country’s total land area. The country’s main causes of deforestation vary from one zone to another, and include the expansion of agricultural activities, urban growth and infrastructure construction, livestock production, and firewood extraction. In El Salvador’s environmentally important mangroves, drivers of deforestation and degradation include illegal logging and extraction of firewood, agricultural and livestock activities, and the establishment of salt works and small shrimp hatcheries.