Can sustainable management save tropical forests?

Sustained forest management has been adopted as a means of avoiding the destruction of total forestation while continuing to generate revenues from tropical forest resources. This requires limited harvesting regimes coupled with regenerational investments. However, efforts to manage forests sustaina...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific American 1997-04, Vol.276 (4), p.44-49
Main Authors: Rice, R.E. (Conservation International in Washington, DC.), Gullison, R.E, Reid, J.W
Format: Magazinearticle
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
BOSQUE TROPICAL
Commercial forests
Conservation
DURABILITE
Ecological sustainability
Ecologism
Economic impact
Endangered & extinct species
Environmental aspects
Environmental protection
Forest management
Forest production
Forest restoration
Forestry
Forests
FORET TROPICALE
Logging
Rainforests
SOSTENIBILIDAD
Species
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable development
Sustainable forest management
Sustainable timber
TROPICAL FORESTS
Tropical rain forests
Tropical zones
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Summary:Sustained forest management has been adopted as a means of avoiding the destruction of total forestation while continuing to generate revenues from tropical forest resources. This requires limited harvesting regimes coupled with regenerational investments. However, efforts to manage forests sustainably in South America, initiated seven years ago, met with little success, as illustrated in this case study of mahogany forestry in lowland Bolivia. The environmental damage sustained by intensive logging was pervasive, and damage was associated even with sustainable harvests. Certification programs have been proposed as a component of forest conservation. Economic and silvicultural recommendations are made,
ISSN:0036-8733
1946-7087
DOI:10.1038/scientificamerican0497-44