ABSTRACT
Trends in donor policies have always had more to do with First World politics than with Third World needs. Policies and programs serving trade and investment interests have been fairly consistent and have constantly enjoyed a high priority. Deforestation has disturbing implications for the planet in general. It is estimated that one-fourth of the oxygen in our atmosphere derives from the Amazonian rain forest alone. The foothills of the Himalayas, particularly in eastern Nepal and in northeast India, are being deforested at an alarming rate. For the wood gatherers, usually women, this means that the hike in search of firewood takes them farther each year from their villages. Climate change, or "global warming", continued to be among the major concerns of environmentalists throughout the 1990s. International conferences on the topic took place in Berlin in 1995 and in Geneva in 1996. But goals that were set were repeatedly missed.
