Researchers Conclude Sustainable Logging a Tropical Oxymoron
6/18/98
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Title: Researchers Conclude Sustainable Logging a Tropical Oxymoron
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 6/18/98
W A S H I N G T O N, June 18 - Efforts to preserve tropical rain forests with
controlled
logging don't work-and "sustainable" forest management has wasted hundreds of
millions of
dollars. That's the conclusion of researchers who published a commentary today
in the
journal Science, said a World Bank proposal to lift its ban on logging
investment in
tropical rain forests will do little to curb deforestation even if it leads to
sustainable forest management.
"If we aim to achieve conservation results there are many more efficient ways to
do it
than sustainable forest management," said Ian Bowles, an analyst at the
Washington-based
Conservation International. Tropical rain forests are a particular problem. They
contain
most of the world's species-but also many valuable trees, and are usually found
in
developing countries where the economies rely on basic industries such as mining
and logging.
Sustainable forest management is meant to balance the needs of the environment
with the
demand for wood, Bowles said. The idea is to give people economic incentives to
preserve
the forest while harvesting a variety of trees and planting new ones to give the
forest time to regenerate.
But, he added, this kind of logging still has a serious impact on biodiversity-
the number
of different species there are. It can be ineffective because governments often
lack the
will or incentive to slow logging when it is a badly needed cash crop.
"Conservation is not necessarily compatible with sustained yield of timber from
a given
forest," he said. "No matter how you slice it, it has impact on biological
diversity."
Take the Best, then Stop A solution, Bowles said, is to completely log the most
valuable
trees, then close the forest off. This removes the financial incentive to
continue
logging and would allow conservation groups to buy the land cheaply, he
explained.
This would be effective for logging mahogany, Bowles said. As these valuable
trees are
spread out, quick logging won't damage the forest as much as sustained
harvesting over a
long period would.
Increased funding for plantations in degraded areas, establishing additional
protected
areas and more investment in existing parks are other answers, he added.
"If our goal is to stem the tide of destruction and protect what remains of
tropical
forests, the most appropriate investment may be in protection itself," the
authors wrote.
Works Only Sometimes
But Jim Douglas, the forest adviser for the World Bank in Washington, said these
solutions only work in limited situations.
"I personally do not agree with their economic analysis," he said, adding that
the Bank
is merely reviewing its logging policy and any decision to invest is at least a
year
away.
He said the idea of logging the most valuable trees, then closing the forest,
will not
work in tropical forests thickly populated with valuable trees. In many such
areas,
including most of Southeast Asia, controlled logging prevents complete
devastation of
tropical forests, he said.
"If you are intent on maintaining forests with as much integrity as possible,
then
sustainable forest management is probably the only option you have in many
areas,"
Douglas said. "If you do nothing you are certain to lose the forest."
The only way to completely protect biodiversity is to end logging, which is
politically
and economically not feasible, he added.
"Any kind of logging will damage the ecosystem. If you don't want to damage it,
you don't
go in there," Douglas said.
Copyright 1998 Reuters.