The world's forests are disappearing at a rate of
15 million hectares each year, with most of the losses occurring in
humid parts of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. With the present
rate of deforestation, about 40 per cent of the remaining forest
cover in the developing countries will be lost by the year
2005. Tropical forests are being cleared both for their
lumber and to make way for plantations, pastures, and crops.
Migration by landless peasants and other unemployed people into
forest areas is encouraged in some countries, but after a few
harvests the soil is severely depleted.
The cause of deforestation under these conditions
is not simply population pressure but also the desire for foreign
exchange. This induces many developing countries to export timber
faster than their forests are being regenerated. Overcutting also
causes the loss of forest- based livelihoods, increases soil
erosion and downstream flooding, and accelerates the decline of
rare genetic resources and the loss of endangered species. In South
and East Asia and Latin America deforestation in upland watersheds
often causes increased downstream flooding in the rainy season. The
flooding is followed by abnormally low water flow during the dry
season, with severe damage to agricultural productivity in
floodplains and valleys. In the Ganges plain alone, flood damage in
India and Bangladesh exceeds $1 billion annually. Deforestation
also contributes a significant portion of the increasing global
emissions of carbon dioxide, as noted earlier.
Increased demand for agricultural land up to the
year 2010 in developing countries may be on the order of 80 million
hectares. Some of that demand will probably be met out of their
present forest land. But many tropical soils are unsuitable for
continuous cultivation or intense grazing, and such agricultural
expansion may cause ecological damage and loss of productivity. In
some developing countries programmes of transmigration and
settlement for farming and ranching in tropical forest areas have
already caused severe environmental damage, eroding long-term food
security.
To alleviate tropical deforestation and to
promote sustainable exploitation of the world's forests, nations
should assess the value of their forest resources in a
comprehensive way and reflect this in their development plans. Once
the true costs of deforestation are realized, Governments would be
more likely to seek to protect their forest ecosystems.
Multipurpose forest management involves production of timber,
non-wood forest products, fuel-wood, fodder, fibre, and wildlife
management; it also contributes to provision of water, shelter and
recreation, control of air pollution, and protection of soil,
genetic resources, and natural heritage. The following techniques
and approaches are essential in a strategy to find this
balance:
Agroforestry integrates trees with crop and
livestock production systems and is a promising way to link food
production, especially in low-potential areas, with improved forest
management.
Watershed management is necessary to guarantee
food production in high-potential areas. Links need to be
maintained between forestry and food production through an
integrated approach to watershed management. Incentives must be
provided to rehabilitate degraded watersheds.
Monitoring and evaluation systems should include
adequate baseline surveys, geographic information systems, and
assessment of local environmental impacts and community benefits
and involvement.
Protection of genetic resources is fundamental to
any forest strategy. The establishment in 1987 of the International
Fund on Plant Genetic Resources was an important step toward
ensuring that the genetic resources of the tropical forests are
conserved and wisely utilized.
The Tropical Forestry Action Plan was initiated
in 1985 to coordinate human needs, environmental management, and
sustainable forest development. It is slowly gaining recognition by
concerned countries. Seeking to find the right balance between
development and environmental protection, this plan represents the
first serious international effort to confront the problem of
saving the tropical forest in an integrated way. The International
Tropical Timber Agreement also came into force in 1985. Its main
objectives are to improve market intelligence, to assist producing
countries to develop better techniques for reforestation and forest
management, to encourage increased timber processing in producing
countries, and to support research and development programmes to
achieve these goals. Several developing countries, including
Brazil, Indonesia, and the Philippines, have banned most exports of
logs; more dramatically, Thailand has banned all commercial
logging, even for use by its own wood products industry, and is
removing squatter farmers from forest areas with steep slopes or
shallow soils.