The Dynamics of Deforestation in the Wet and Dry Tropics: A Comparison with Policy Implications

Thomas K Rudel

doi:10.3390/f8040108

Abstract

Forests in the dry tropics differ significantly from forests in the humid tropics in their biomass and in their socio-ecological contexts, so it might be reasonable to assume that the dynamics that drive deforestation in these two settings would also differ. Until recently, difficulties in measuring the extent of dry tropical forests have made it difficult to investigate this claim empirically. The release of high resolution LANDSAT satellite imagery in 2013 has removed this impediment, making it possible to identify variations in the extent of wet and dry forests within countries by measuring variations in the canopy cover of their forests. These metrics have in turn made it possible to investigate human differences in the dynamics of deforestation between dry forested and wet forested nations in the tropics. Cross-national analyses suggest that international trade in agricultural commodities plays a more important role in driving deforestation in the wet tropics than it does in the dry tropics. The variable salience of international trade as a driver has important implications, described here, for the success of policies designed to slow deforestation in the dry tropics and the wet tropics. Curbing dry forest losses, in particular, would appear to require locally focused and administered policies.

Highlights

Over the past ten years a consensus has gradually emerged about the chief drivers of tropical deforestation worldwide
To what do we attribute the regional differences in deforestation? One conjecture might attribute these differences to variations in climate and associated forest types that, in interaction with rural societies, have produced distinctive regional deforestation dynamics
This study only looks at forests in the tropics, defined as countries with land areas located between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn

Summary

Introduction

Over the past ten years a consensus has gradually emerged about the chief drivers of tropical deforestation worldwide. A different pattern seems to have characterized deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa In this region, the small-scale production of agricultural commodities like charcoal, millet, and cassava for local consumption has played a larger role in deforestation [7,8]. The small-scale production of agricultural commodities like charcoal, millet, and cassava for local consumption has played a larger role in deforestation [7,8] Recognition of these regional differences in the dynamics of deforestation has no doubt made investigators more aware of the diverse, conjunctural nature of the forces that have destroyed tropical forests in different places. I explore this possibility here with particular attention to possible differences between wet and dry forests in the dynamics of tropical deforestation. This analysis, if convincing, would help us ‘unpack’ the continental differences in deforestation dynamics observed by many analysts

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