ABSTRACT
Conservationists have a clear view of the present and future of the tropical rain forest: it is currently under threat from shifting cultivators and reckless commercial exploitation; some areas should be set aside as strategic reserves to protect endangered flora and fauna; there should be a sharp reduction in non-sustainable commercial exploitation of natural forest (with plantations eventually supplying the bulk of tropical hardwood timber); commercial stress should be placed on those forest resources that can be exploited on a sustainable basis.
