ABSTRACT
Current arguments over the state of the world’s tropical forests appear to be polarized between preservation and development views. There is a growing awareness, particularly in industrialized nations, of tropical forests as “unique” ecosystems, a major source of the world’s biological diversity with important climatic functions – notably their role in global warming as an important “store” of carbon. At its extreme, this argument calls for complete preservation of the tropical forests, with no human use permitted at all, except perhaps by communities of forest-dwellers who have traditionally used and managed the natural forests in a sustainable manner. However, many people within tropical forest countries see the forests and the land they cover as resources that should be exploited for economic development. Forest lands are therefore seen as valuable sources of commercial timber, or as land for agriculture and mining. The emphasis is on “opening up” the forest, through road-building and infrastructure investments, and “developing” forest resources, through building hydroelectric dams, establishing timber concessions, encouraging agricultural development and allowing shifting cultivation as a “release valve” for population pressure.
