Looking up from the base of a kapok tree. (Photo by R. Butler)
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LOGGING
OVERVIEW
In most tropical countries forests are government-owned and ownership by parties other than the state is often
prohibited. Timber is often harvested under concession agreements awarded to private logging firms who, without
securimg legal rights to the land, are reluctant to make investments in forest management. Thus it is no surprise
that a recent study found that less than 0.1 percent of tropical forests are sustainably managed and less than 1 percent of the area used
for logging is under any form of management. Nevertheless, tropical countries see timber as a major source of revenue
and continue to grant huge concessions at below their market rates. Forestry is important to the world economy,
contributing 2 percent to world GDP (4 percent of GDP in developing countries) and making up 3% of international trade; it is also vital to
the local economies of many countries. For example, the logging of tropical timber provides work for 100,000 people
in the Sarawak province of Malaysia and generates US$ 1.5 billion annually in exports. However, the resource management
of tropical forests is grossly underfunded, causing numerous problems.
The International Tropical Timber
Organization (ITTO)
Amazon to be logged sustainably says Brazil
United States and Indonesia to fight illegal logging
Selective logging can have low impact on Amazon rainforest says FAO
New tropical timber pact takes aims at illegal logging
Governments making progress in fight against illegal logging says FAO
Recent news: logging | sustainable forest management
Many countries have passed forestry laws, sometimes as a genuine
effort, but more often as a nominal gesture to please international financing organizations. Where forestry laws
exist they are often ignored or widely abused. In the absence of regulation, loggers often ignore the negative
environmental impacts of their actions, since they derive little or no financial benefit from mitigating them. For
example, Malaysia, one of the largest exporters of tropical wood, has good forestry laws that would almost guarantee
sustainable use of its forests. However, the laws are not put into practice because of a lack of forestry officials and
a lack of government interest. Many in government prefer the extra cash in their pockets from the intense lobbying
by timber companies instead of actually enforcing forestry laws. Thus Malaysia's national parks and reserves continue
to be exploited, and the recommended maximum felling quantities are exceeded. Typical management problems include:
improperly conducted pre- and post-harvesting inventories, re-logging at more frequent intervals than required,
cutting outside concession boundaries, and ineffective control and supervision by the forest ministry. Many governments
around the world partake in such activities in an effort to raise quick cash. However these governments are selling
themselves and their peoples short. Many are effectively selling their wood at below market prices while others are losing millions
worldwide from illegal logging activities by not enforcing their forestry laws. Instead of collecting taxes and
duties on all timber extracted from the forest, governments receive only partial revenue as illicit wood goes untaxed. The problem is especially
bad in Indonesia where an estimated 500,000 hectares (42 percent of annual logged area) of forest are illegally logged
each year at a loss as high as US$3.5 billion in revenues to the government. Worldwide, the World Bank estimates, governments lose about US$5 billion in revenues annually as a result of illegal logging while overall losses to the national economies of timber-producing countries add up to an additional US$10 billion per year.
What is desperately needed is a new type of forestry that departs from the older mentality where forests only exist
to serve immediate human demands and are considered non-exhaustible resources. New forest management adds both rural development
and conservation projects to traditional tree harvesting and aims to keep forests as functional ecological systems
while providing multiple economic benefits. Among the innovations of the new forest management are a greater involvement
of local communities, diversification of forest products to include NWFPs, and the development of plantation forests
on degraded lands. Great strides have been made in recent years to develop more sustainable management policies,
but traditional logging firms still have a long way to go.
Review questions:
- Why is illegal logging a problem for governments?
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
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Recent news
Some toilet paper production destroys Indonesian rainforests, endangering tigers and elephants
(02/09/2012) American consumers are unwittingly contributing to the destruction of endangered rainforests in Sumatra by purchasing certain brands of toilet paper, asserts a new report published by the environmental group WWF. The report, Don't Flush Tiger Forests: Toilet Paper, U.S. Supermarkets, and the Destruction of Indonesia's Last Tiger Habitats, takes aim at two tissue brands that source fiber from Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), a paper products giant long criticized by environmentalists and scientists for its forestry practices on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The brands — Paseo and Livi — are among the fastest growing, in terms of sales, in the United States.
Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
(02/09/2012) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
Green groups: government moving too slowly on protecting Canada's Great Bear rainforest
(02/08/2012) Three environmental groups have submitted a letter to British Columbia Premier, Christy Clark, to ask the government to speed up the process of implementing the Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, which is meant to ensure 70 percent of old-growth forest is maintained.
Caution urged in sale of Madagascar's illegal timber stockpiles
(02/03/2012) Confiscated timber stocks in Madagascar must be managed in a "transparent manner" to deter future illegal logging and boosting demand for endangered rainforest timber, says a letter published by a coalition of NGOs.
Indonesia to require loggers prove their concessions free of overlapping claims
(02/02/2012) Applicants for forest concessions in Indonesia will soon be required to prove there aren't overlapping claims on their holdings, reports The Jakarta Globe. The move, which offers the potential to reduce land disputes between forest developers and local communities, could complicate investments in the forestry sector in Indonesia.
More news on logging
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