ABSTRACT
The previous two chapters described how deforestation and logging occur in tropical rain forests. This chapter goes into the matter a little more deeply, looking first of all at why they take place as they do. Land use change and logging do not happen by themselves. Demand for food, other farm products and minerals means that land is needed to produce them and this often requires deforestation; forest is logged to supply demand for wood. These demands in turn can be traced to more fundamental causes, which include social and economic factors and government policies (Table 4.1).
