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, 1990-2000

(Millions of hectares per year)

Domain

Natural Forest – Net Chg

Forest Plantations – Net Chg

Total Forest – Net Chg

Tropical -14.2 +1.9 -12.3

Temperate & Boreal

+1.7

+1.7

+3.4

Global

-12.5

+3.6

-8.9

Source: FAO, Global Forest Resources Assessment, 2005.

Worldwide Changes in Total Forest Area – Gains and Losses, 2000-2005

(Millions of hectares per year)

Domain

Natural Forest – Net Chg

Forest Plantations – Net Chg

Total Forest – Net Chg

Global 1990-2000

-12.5 +3.6 -8.9

Global 2000-2005

-13.0

+5.7

-7.3

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