Agricultural Expansion and Tropical Deforestation

There is no clear-cut causal relationship between international trade, agricultural expansion and tropical deforestation. Academics, policy makers and the public are all tempted by simplistic solutions to complex problems. In order to establish the true causal factors involved in this critical area of environmental decline the authors of this study present case studies ranging over three continents. Using ample and detailed statistics the book shows that the focus on analysis of deforestation must be applied as much to the misguided policies of national and regional authorities as to the forces of trade and globalization. Further, a critical perspective on the historical context of human use of forest areas must be adopted, looking at such issues as systems of land tenure. The primary aim of the book is to highlight the need to seek solutions in far-reaching institutional and policy reforms if the problem of tropical deforestation is to be tackled effectively.

Krishna B. Ghimire is a researcher at the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD), Geneva.