Public Policies and the Misuse of Forest Resources

by Robert Repetto, Malcolm Gillis

Overview

Six contributors explore the role of governments in accelerating the rate of forest destruction by providing direct and indirect subsidies to support what would otherwise be non-commercial logging operations. Without these financial incentives, most timber operations in the tropics would cease. In a series of country-by-country investigations, including examples from the developed and developing worlds, this book documents the government policies that are leading to the misuse of forest resources. Each is written by an authority on the county, and each contains descriptive, analytical and empirical material on key policies and their effects. The final country analysis focuses on the United States, where the consequences of the subsidized timber sales by the US Forest Service from most of the national forests are discussed. The book concludes with an overview of the impact of forest policies and the role of bilateral and multilateral agencies in their formulation. By directing attention toward the political dimension involved in forest clearance, this book will provide a clearer insight into the basic reasons why forests continue to be destroyed despite the outcry raised by conservationists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521335744
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/30/1988
Series:	World Resource Institute Book Series
Pages:	450
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.91(d)

Table of Contents

Contributors; Foreword; Acknowledgments; 1. Overview Robert Repetto; 2. Indonesia: public policies, resource management, and the tropical forest Malcolm Gillis; 3. Malaysia: public policies and the tropical forest Malcolm Gillis; 4. Incentive policies and forest use in the Philippines Eufresina L. Boado; 5. Price and policy: the keys to revamping China's forestry resources Li Jinchang, Kong Fanwen, He Naihui and Lester Ross; 6. Public policy and deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon John O. Browder; 7. West Africa: resource management policies and the tropical forest Malcolm Gillis; 8. Subsidized timber sales from national forest lands in the United States Robert Repetto; 9. Conclusion: findings and policy implications Malcolm Gillis and Robert Repetto; Index of topics.

Editorial Reviews

"Its serious and reasoned approach is a breath of fresh air and contains much of interest to foresters—it should be required reading for anyone in tropical forestry." —Journal of Forestry

"...this volume succeeds admirably as a (possibly bitter) tonic for any who remain faithful to the view that the cause of environmental protection is solved by simply putting government in charge. It also provides much valuable raw material for future empirical work, in the form of rich institutional detail and a host of hy[otheses concerning the effects of specific government policies on deforestation." Robert T. Deacon, Forest Science

From the Publisher