Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
towards those who manage their forests
sustainably. Deforestation is driven by
international trade, by government policies, by
regional priorities and local economics.
Still, the situation is not wholly bad. True,
deforestation affects many aspects of the
environment adversely. Forests, especially tropical
forests, are major and largely unexplored reserves
of biodiversity. Deforestation effects a
transformation of the ecology, soils and waters of
affected lands, which is usually negative. It has
major impacts on climatic and biogeochemical
processes at various scales from micro- to macro-,
which are mainly damaging. Large tropical forests,
especially the Amazon rain forest, play a key role
in the geophysiological regulation of the Earth's
atmosphere and climate. Forests are major sinks of
CO2 and forests play an important role in the
moderation of global warming (Lovelock 1991).
However, at the local scale, deforestation is not
necessarily a disaster. In many cases, it is possible
to convert forest land to new, sustainable and more
economically productive land uses. Even where
this fails, then, if tree growth is not actively
prevented then, in most cases, the forests, especially
the tropical forests, can and will regenerate.
extraction in Thailand, and a classic case of
environmental reconstruction after deforestation
from theYazoo Highlands of Mississippi.
Lovelock, J.E. (1991)
Gaia: The Practical Science of
Planetary Medicine. Stroud: Gaia Books.
This is an
introductory overview of the current state of the
planetary system, including the role of the tropical
forests. Written by one of the greatest and most
progressive scientific thinkers of our time, this
topic also sketches out a new way of conceiving
and interacting with Planet Earth.
Murali, K.S. and Hegde, R. (1997). Patterns of
tropical deforestation.
Journal of Tropical Forest
Science
9, 465-76. An overview of tropical
deforestation written by and for the foresters in
the tropical nations.
Myers, N. (1993) Tropical forests—the main
deforestation fronts.
Environmental Conservation
20(1), 9-16. A sample broadside from one of the
great environmentalist campaigners, author of
'The Sinking Ark' (Oxford: Pergamon, 1980) who
has carved his niche in the world by acting as
spokesperson for the world's guilty conscience and
by shouting out truths that others might rather
not hear.
These days, it is easier to access a web site than
find a topic. The United Nations system and some
of the larger environmental organisations have
excellent web resources that offer an up-date of
both the international actions and assessments of
the deforestation problems in the years after Rio
and its Agenda 21. Here follow some key sources:
UNCED (1992)
Report of the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development
(Rio de
Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992). Chapter 11: Combating
Deforestation. NewYork: United Nations a/Conf.
151/26 (Vol. II) 14pp. [gopher.//gopher.un.org:70/
00/conf/unced/English/a21_11.txt]
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the
United Nations) (1997)
Agenda 21 Progress Report.
Sustainable Development Dimensions/
Environmental Policy, Planning and Management
Special, Chapters 10: Land Resources, 11:
Deforestation, 14: Sustainable Agriculture, [http: /
/www.fao.org/sd/Epdirect/Epre033htm]
GUIDE TO FURTHER READING
Bruijnzeel, L.A. (1990)
Hydrology of Moist Tropical
Forests and Effects of Conversion: A State of Knowledge
Review.
Paris: UNESCO/IHP: 224 pp. An
impartial overview of the state of the an in tropical
forest hydrological research.
Haigh, M.J. (1994)
Deforestation in the Himalaya.
In
Roberts, N. (ed.)
The Changing Global Environment.
Oxford: Blackwell,
440-62. A review of the three
main viewpoints on the causes, degree, physical
consequences and management implications of
deforestation in the Himalaya.
Haigh, M.J. and Krecek, J. (eds) (1991) Special
feature on headwater management.
Land Use Policy
8(3): 171-205.Three key case studies of the impacts
of deforestation in headwater regions including
field evidence of the drying up of springs in the
Himalaya, the conseqences of over-zealous timber
