ABSTRACT
When reading about tropical deforestation, be it in Central America or in other Third World regions, one is usually presented with lists of causes which tend to highlight the roles played by shifting peasant agriculture, the conversion of forest to pasture, the expansion of certain agro-export crops, uncontrolled logging activities, fuelwood gathering and urbanization. Rapid population growth is often posited as one of the major forces resulting in increased pressure on the natural resource base which, in turn, results in deforestation.
