Tropical Deforestation:

1
Tropical Deforestation
A Serious and Daunting Problem
2
Tropical forests occupy 10.4 percent of the
worlds land.
3
Not all tropical forests are wet. The tropical
rainforests comprise a little less than one-half
the worlds tropical forests and cover an area
roughly the size of the contiguous United States.
4
Some forests within the tropical regions receive
relatively little rainfall and are classified as
dry tropical forests.
5
More than one-half of the worlds intact tropical
forests are found in just three countries

• Brazil
• Indonesia
• Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire)

6
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.
7
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.
8
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.
9
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.
10
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.
11
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.
12
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.
13
In non-Amazonian Brazil, 81 of the land is
controlled by just 4.5 of the landowners, whose
holdings are often vast and underused.
14
Deforestation of tropical rainforests is the
result of several forces - all intricately
interwoven.
15
Deforestation of tropical rainforests is the
result of several forces - all intricately
interwoven. There is no quick fix for the
problem of tropical deforestation.
16
The number one underlying cause of tropical
deforestation is population growth.
17
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)
18
Causes of Tropical Deforestation

• Explosive population growth
• Unemployment

19
Causes of Tropical Deforestation

• Explosive population growth
• Unemployment

• Poverty
• Shifting and permanent agriculture

20
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
21
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.
22
Vast areas are cleared for production of other
agricultural crops including bananas, coffee,
cocoa, and palm oil.
23
Causes of Tropical Deforestation

• Explosive population growth
• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Shifting and permanent agriculture
• Cattle ranching

• Needs for fuel wood
• Needs for timber

24
Main Causes of Tropical Forest Degradation
Cattle Ranching 8.3
Infrastructure 1.0
Fuelwood 7.9
Permanent Agriculture 16.8
Subsistence Farming 60.4
Forestry 5.6
Source Murra, 1983 FAO, 1987
25
Agents of Tropical Forest Destruction
Development/Infrastructure 5
Fuelwood 20
Slash and Burn Agriculture 45
Settlement/Permanent Agriculture 15
Industrial Logging 15
Source U.S. Forest Service, 1992
26
Shifting and permanent agriculture, including
cattle ranching, account for 60-85 of tropical
deforestation worldwide.
27
Simply designating tropical forests as parks or
preserves, without addressing underlying causes
of deforestation, is unlikely to be effective in
halting forest destruction.
28
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