Deforestation in the Tropics

Abstract

Deforestation in the tropics is a consequence of poor management inappropriate agricultural and tax policies and inattention to significant social and economic problems. Governments have not placed a high enough value on tropical forests. There is a summary and identification of causes of deforestation with specific examples and possible remedial actions to strengthen forest management capability. The destruction of tropical forests has increased within 10 years to the status of a serious problem. The result is an increasing risk to natural systems and build up of carbon dioxide the loss of habitat for plant and animal species and a severe economic loss. Fuelwood is lost as well as other forest resources. Recent studies have found that nontimber forest product income may exceed the value of timber harvest and provide the livelihoods of local residents i.e. the wild rubber revenues in Acre State Brazil. There are other consequences on soil water quality and local climate. Management problems include wastage by burning of timber and by destroying immature or less desirable trees in the process of extracting valuable timber. Sustained productivity is not practiced. Governments also do not collect the full resource value of timber harvested. There are also low royalties and taxes. Timber profits are concentrated in the hands of concession holders mill owners and timber traders who use the investment as a tax shelter or act as middlemen i.e. businessmen ministers senators and senior politicians. Effective supervision is not always possible; log smuggling and tax evasion occur. Governments fail to invest enough in forest management i.e. Indonesian trained foresters must rely on concessionaires for transportation. Fees are based on the wood extracted not destroyed or damaged. Inappropriate incentives contribute to inefficient wood processing within the country and economic losses. Indirect policies of "transmigration" or subsidized rural credit programs have impacts. Industrialized countries have profited from these forest policies. Development assistance agencies both help and hinder. International cooperation has begun under the Tropical Forest Action Plan and the Montreal Protocol. Programs that link debt reduction to better forest management need to be expanded.