ABSTRACT
The total area of the globe where the conditions are fulfilled for tropical rainforests to survive can be estimated as some 1046 million hectares; according to World Resources Institute (WRI) the tropical forests currently account for 42 per cent of the world's total forest area. The size of the tropical forest resources and the amount of deforestation obviously depend on how they are defined. The extreme points of view with respect to forest resources and deforestation can be traced down to different angles from which the tropical forests are viewed. Governments intervene in many ways in agricultural markets. Agricultural pricing policies play an important role in encouraging resource degradation. The stumpage value, or economic rent, of mature virgin tropical forest timber is substantial. Many governments have offered timber concessions to logging companies on terms that capture only a small fraction of this rent in royalties, taxes, fees, leaving most of it as above-normal profits for private interests.
