ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the complex processes associated with deforestation in the neotropics and discusses the challenges inherent in addressing forest loss within a sustainable development context. It analyzes the range of disparate pressures exerted upon forest resources in the Central American region and considers the efficacy of remedial methods employed to counter their destructive impacts. The need to evaluate the validity of existing land management structures represents a key starting point for the process, one which may ultimately necessitate radical and innovative models of land reform to ensure more equitable access to the natural resources traditionally utilised by indigenous and local communities. The practice of shifting cultivation represents a long established agricultural technique employed in many forest frontier territories. The Protected Areas programme adopted by the Costa Rican government has been championed by conservation organisations and government agencies alike as an exemplar of prudent environmental husbandry.
