Tropical Forests

by Rudel, Thomas K.

• ISBN13: 9780231131940
• ISBN10: 0231131941
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-09-15
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

Addressing decades of rain forest destruction, concerned scientists, often in concert with various environmental movements, have amassed an impressive amount of information on deforestation in areas throughout the world. In Tropical Forests, Thomas K. Rudel analyzes hundreds of local studies from the past twenty years to develop a much-needed global perspective on deforestation. With separate chapters on individual regions, including South and Central America, the Caribbean, and Africa, Rudel's work offers an up-to-date assessment of changes in the extent of the world's tropical forests. Through a meta-analysis, Rudel identifies the social, economic, and environmental forces driving forest cover change since 1980. In addition to synthesizing a range of local studies, Rudel recounts the stories of people whose work preserves, destroys, or restores forests. Rudel's explanation of what has happened in each of the world's tropical forest regions reveals continued destruction in regions with large forests and some regeneration emerging in places with small, remnant forests. In the concluding chapter, Rudel considers the implications of these trends and describes policy directions for conserving biodiversity and promoting sustainable development in each region.

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
List of Tables	xi
Preface	xiii
Acknowledgments	xv
1. Introduction	1	(10)
2. Theory and Method in Studying Regional Deforestation Processes	11	(22)
3. Central America and the Caribbean: Island and Isthmus Deforestation	33	(18)
4. The Amazon Basin: The Breakdown of Passive Protection	51	(24)
5. West Africa: From Cocoa Groves in Forests to Food Crops in Scrub Growth	75	(15)
6. Central Africa: Passive Protections for Rain Forests	90	(15)
7. East Africa: Sustainable Spots Surrounded by Degrading Expanses	105	(17)
8. South Asia: A Turning Point for Forests?	122	(17)
9. Southeast Asia: Deforesting the Lowlands, Afforesting the Highlands	139	(16)
10. Through a Regional Lens: Conservation Policies in Large and Small Forests	155	(18)
Appendix: Case Studies and Accompanying QCAs for Each Region	173	(14)
Notes	187	(8)
References	195	(26)
Index	221