Not by timber alone

Few topics are more important for the future of our planet than tropical deforestation. Often, however, the issue is regarded as a conflict between the requirements of growth and a higher standard of living on the one hand, and the conditions needed to maintain a sustainable environment on the other. The authors of this book argue that to limit discussion to either/or alternatives will almost certainly lead to ecological disaster. Those who stand to benefit from the destruction of the forests will not forgo their chances for a higher standard of living in order to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere or to conserve biological diversity. To successfully manage our environment, we must find paths to development that are consistent with a sustainable environment. Not by Timber Alone presents the findings of a Harvard Institute for International Development study commissioned by the International Tropical Timber Organization, which examined the economic value of tropical hardwood forests as productive living systems, and the potential for their multiple-use management. The authors review the condition of the resource base and the possibilities of trade, and provide a basic summary of non-timber forest products and environmental services, such as water quality maintenance and soil conservation, that forests provide. They analyze the economics of multiple-use management and consider the changes that would be required for harvesting technology and plantation design. In addition, the problems of land tenure, executive institutions, government policies, and international cooperation are considered in their appropriate contexts.