ABSTRACT
Tropical deforestation is more a land use problem than merely a forestry problem and it usually takes place so that forest can be replaced by another land use. A larger number of land uses are involved than is generally supposed, though they vary in dominance from one country to another and also differ in their impacts on the forest. This chapter looks in turn at each of the main land uses, dividing them for convenience into three groups: shifting agriculture; permanent agriculture, including such practices as wet rice cultivation and tree crop plantations; and other land uses such as mining and hydroelectric power schemes (Table 2.1). Since their introduction provides the motive for forest clearance land uses may be considered to be the direct, or immediate causes of deforestation. But to understand why it occurs we must look to some deeper underlying causes, including population growth, economic development and government policies. They are mentioned here but analysed in greater detail in Chapter 4.
