ABSTRACT
The most important conservation issue in the humid tropics is that of the critical consequences of destroying the forest cover. Conservation in Latin America is speculative in large measure-little is known of the effect of large forest areas on climate, nor is there a thorough understanding of the complex hydrology of the vast river systems of the Orinoco and Amazon. There is no definitive analysis of the potential downstream effects of flooding and silting caused by accelerated runoff or erosion, and the distinction between maninduced and geological erosion in the headwaters is not clearly drawn. Nevertheless the words "runoff' and "erosion" applied to the humid tropics of Latin America evoke the same specter of evil that has haunted much of the discussion of conservation and clouded the formulation and implementation of resource policies in other parts of the world.1
