World"s tropical forests : a policy, strategy, and program for the United States

Interagency Task Force report on the growing problem of deforestation in tropical lands. The report is in three parts. First, the world"s forest resources are surveyed, together with the causes, rates, and consequences of deforestation. Next, national and international technological and institutional capabilities to meet the deforestation problem are outlined. Finally, the U.S. stake in tropical forests is analyzed and recommendations are made for a U.S. forest policy and a strategy to achieve it. The report confirms the widely held view that the world"s tropical forests are in jeopardy and that serious social, economic, and environmental costs are being incurred, especially by the rural poor in developing tropical countries. The report also indicates that the United States has a vital stake in preserving both its own and other tropical forests and that, together with other nations and international organizations, it has the capability to help alleviate the deforestation problem. Several important perspectives emerged in the course of the study. (1) Wood harvesting for in-country uses and large-scale conversion of forest land to other, mainly agricultural, uses are by far the principal causes of tropical forest loss. (2) Although substantial in monetary value, U.S. imports of tropical hardwood account for an insignificant percentage of total hard and soft woods used in this country. (3) Legitimate reasons for tree removal and forest land conversion exist. What is needed is an expansion of the long- and short-term benefits of tropical forests through improved management. This includes their management as a renewable timber resource under the principle of sustained yield and the maintenance of other values (ecological, recreational, scientific, educational, etc.) that will be increasingly important in the future. (4) The future of tropical forests will be determined largely by decisions of governments on seemingly unrelated issues, e.g., food production, energy, and land use. Efforts must be made to address the effect of these decisions on tropical forests while also providing a new focus of policy for tropical forests.