Brazil: Forests in the Balance : Challenges of Conservation With Development

Brazil has almost 27 per cent of the remaining global tropical moist forest and its importance to world biodiversity is unparalleled. Brazil is also the world's largest consumer of tropical wood products and consumes about 86 per cent of its own production. The forests are under pressure from deforestation from agricultural expansion, logging, and development, particularly road building. Forest fires and weak environmental policies also contribute. This case study is one of six evaluations of the implementation of the World Bank's 1991 Forest Strategy.