Tropical Deforestation : A Serious and Daunting Problem

Tropical forests occupy 10.4 percent of the world’s land.

Not all tropical forests are wet. The tropical rainforests comprise a little less than one- half the world’s tropical forests and cover an area roughly the size of the contiguous United States.

Some forests within the tropical regions receive relatively little rainfall and are classified as dry tropical forests.

More than one-half of the world’s intact tropical forests are found in just three countries: Brazil Indonesia Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)

Deforestation is a complete change in land use from forest to agriculture - including shifting cultivation and pasture - or urban use. It does not include forest that has been logged and left to regrow, even if it was clearcut.

Worldwide Changes in Total Forest Area – Gains and Losses, (Millions of hectares per year) Domain Natural Forest – Net Chg Forest Plantations – Net Chg Total Forest – Net Chg Tropical Temperate & Boreal Global Source: FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2005.

Worldwide Changes in Total Forest Area – Gains and Losses, (Millions of hectares per year) Domain Natural Forest – Net Chg Forest Plantations – Net Chg Total Forest – Net Chg Global Global Source: FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2005.

The rate of tropical deforestation appears to have declined slightly since the decade of the 1980s, and when plantations are taken into account the loss of tree cover is even less.

Many governments consider their forest land “under-developed” and will grant title to forest land to those who will “improve it,” by clearing it for pasture or plantation agriculture, for example.

However, traditional land uses, such as shifting cultivation and collecting non-timber forest products, do not usually qualify as improvement, and local residents can face eviction from lands long used sustainably.

The inequitable distribution of agricultural land is one of the primary forces pushing landless migrants into the forest - where their slash and burn clearing for subsistence agriculture is now a leading cause of deforestation worldwide.

In non-Amazonian Brazil, 81% of the land is controlled by just 4.5% of the landowners, whose holdings are often vast and underused.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests is the result of several forces - all intricately interwoven.

Deforestation of tropical rainforests is the result of several forces - all intricately interwoven. There is no “quick fix” for the problem of tropical deforestation.

The number one underlying cause of tropical deforestation is population growth.

Causes of Tropical Deforestation: Explosive population growth (The population of the Brazilian Amazon increased 3.14x between 1980 and 1991) (The population of the world doubled between 1960 and the present)

Causes of Tropical Deforestation: Explosive population growth Unemployment

Causes of Tropical Deforestation: Explosive population growth Unemployment Poverty Shifting and permanent agriculture

Causes of Tropical Deforestation: Explosive population growth Unemployment Poverty Shifting and permanent agriculture “The choice is not between logging and protected areas in Brazil. The choice is between logging and soybeans.” Friends of the Earth, Brazil

Conversion of land from forest to agriculture is by far the leading cause of tropical deforestation. This area in northern Malaysia is being used to grow tea.

Vast areas are cleared for production of other agricultural crops including bananas, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil.

Causes of Tropical Deforestation: Explosive population growth Unemployment Poverty Shifting and permanent agriculture Cattle ranching Needs for fuel wood Needs for timber

Main Causes of Tropical Forest Degradation Subsistence Farming 60.4% Permanent Agriculture 16.8% Fuelwood 7.9% Forestry 5.6% Cattle Ranching 8.3% Infrastructure 1.0% Source: Murra, 1983; FAO, 1987

Agents of Tropical Forest Destruction Slash and Burn Agriculture 45% Settlement/Permanent Agriculture 15% Industrial Logging 15% Fuelwood 20% Development/Infrastructure 5% Source: U.S. Forest Service, 1992

Shifting and permanent agriculture, including cattle ranching, account for 60-85% of tropical deforestation worldwide.

Simply designating tropical forests as parks or preserves, without addressing underlying causes of deforestation, is unlikely to be effective in halting forest destruction.

“Solutions need to involve the very people who destroy the forest. They need to be given alternatives, they need to be part of the process of developing alternatives...” Dr. Dietmar Rose