Role of Forest Farmers in Conversion of Tropical Moist Forests

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Role of Forest Farmers in Conversion of Tropical Moist Forests SO 418.3 .T76 119 1 80 C.1 , Coogle Conversion of Tropical Moist Forests A report prepared by Norman Myers for the Committee on Research Priorities in Tropical Biology of the National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Washington, D.C. 1980 {J\~·I~A: FEB n1801 LIBRARY NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the Councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the Committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences ansi with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors acco~ding to proce­ dures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Med­ icine. The work of the Committee on Research Priorities in Tropical Biology was supported by Contract NSF-C3 10, Task Order No. 374 with the National Science Foundation; Dr. Myers' survey was supported under Subcontract ALS-20-78-265. COVER PHOTOGRAPH: Courtesy of the National Science Foundation Library or Congress Cataloging In Publication Data Myers, Norman. Conversion of tropical moist forests. Bibliography: p. I. Deforestation-Tropics. 2. Rain forest ecology. 3. Man-Influence on nature­ Tropics. 4. Forest surveys-Tropics. 5. Forests and forestry-Tropics. I. National Research Council. Committee on Research Priorities in Tropical Biology. II. Title. SD418.3.T76M9 333.7'5'0913 80-12477 ISBN 0-309-02945-7 A vailable from: Office of Publications, National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20418 Printed in the United States of America COMMITTEE ON RESEARCH PRIORITIES IN TROPICAL BIOLOGY PEtER RAVEN, Missouri Botanical Garden, Chairman PETER S. ASHTON, Harvard University GERARDO BUDOWSKI, Centro Agronomico Tropical de Investigacion y Ensefianza (CATlE), Costa Rica ARTURO GOMEZ-POMPA, Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones sobre Recursos Bioticos, A.C., Mexico DANIEL H. J AN ZEN, University of Pennsylvania W. M. LEWIS, JR., University of Colorado HAROLD MOONEY, Stanford University PAULO NOGUEIRA-NETO, Ministerio do Interior, Brazil GORDON ORIANS, University of Washington HARALD SIOLI, Max Planck Institut fUr Limnologie, F. R. Germany HILGARD O'REILLY STERNBERG, University of California JOHN J. TERBORGH, Princeton University FRANK H. WADSWORTH, Institute of Tropical Forestry, Puerto Rico PA UL J. Z INK E, University of California JAMES J. TALBOT, NAS, Staff Officer III Preface The tropical moist forest biome is biologically the richest and least well known portion of the earth's surface. In this biome are to be found several million kinds of organisms of which no more than a half-million have even been given a Latin name. Many of the known and unknown species of organisms in the tropics offer significant potential for utiliza­ tion by man, and all are of intrinsic scientific interest. A number of tropical plants, including rubber and oil palm, have been brought into wide-scale cultivation within the past century. Many more should be investigated as to their useful properties. Because of the exceptional scientific interest of tropical moist forests, the National Research Council in 1977 appointed a Committee on Research Priorities in Tropical Biology, charged with investigating which biological questions can be answered only in the tropics, or can be answered better or more efficiently there than elsewhere. It is well known that the tropical moist forest contains baseline conditions for many biological phenomena and that these baseline conditions are not yet all well understood. Not only is the extrapolation of assumptions derived from studies of temperate ecosystems undesirable, but major differences between different areas of the tropics are becoming appar­ ent. These latter greatly increase the difficulty of reaching scientific generalities or of applying the results of particular studies to develop­ ment for human purposes. Consequently, many development schemes now being pursued in the tropics are very unlikely to succeed on a long-term basis. v vi PREFACE It is widely recognized that tropical forests are being converted rapidly, and on a wide scale, to alternative patterns of land use. This situation lends urgency to the kinds of biological priorities that the Committee seeks to formulate, and made it seem desirable to commis­ sion a review of the state and rate of such conversion. In part, this review is a response to what we perceive as a growing worldwide concern with the impact of tropical forest destruction on human welfare. The report is based on the results of a survey conducted by Norman Myers between July 1978 and April 1979. During this period, Dr. Myers collected, collated, and evaluated such documentary evi­ dence as he could obtain concerning different forms and degrees of conversion. His findings are summarized in this volume, which the Committee, with but one abstention, moved to make readily available, such that they may be taken into account in formulating scientific priorities for tropical research and also in the search for patterns of development that can be sustained for human welfare. PETER H. RAVEN, Chairman NRC Committee on Research Priorities in Tropical Biology Contents METHODS Previous Surveys, 1 Basic Considerations for Present Survey, 4 Reliability of Information, 6 Meaning of "Conversion," 7 Literature Analysis, 9 Correspondence, 9 Consultations and Discussions, 10 2 TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 11 Definition, 11 Problems of Contrasting Terminology, 15 3 R OLE OF FOREST FARMERS IN CONVERSION OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 23 4 ROLE OF TIMBER TRADE IN CONVERSION OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 33 Contribution of Tropical Moist Forests to International Trade in Hardwoods for Solid-Wood Use, 34 Contribution of Tropical Moist Forests to International Trade in Sources of Paper Pulp, 38 vii viii CONTENTS Economic Value of Tropical Wood Trade, 39 Ecological Impact of Commercial Logging, 40 Wood Chips, 41 Plantations, 42 5 ROLE OF CATTLE RAISING IN CONVERSION OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 44 6 ROLE OF FIREWOOD CUTTING IN CONVERSION OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 48 Impact of the Firewood Problem on Agriculture, 49 Waste of Potentially Usable Firewood, 49 Supplementary Sources of Firewood, 50 7 MONITORING OF CONVERSION TRENDS OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS 51 Ongoing Studies, 51 Possible Surveys on the Part of Development Agencies, 52 Future Survey Research, 53 Scope of Remote Sensing Surveys, 54 8 REGIONAL REVIEW: SOUTHERN AND SOUTH EAST ASIA AND MELANESIA 62 Australia, 63 Bangladesh,64 Brunei,65 Burma, 66 India, 68 Indonesia, 68 Kampuchea, 76 Laos, 76 Malaysia, 79 Melanesia, 88 Papua New Guinea, 91 The Philippines, 95 Sri Lanka, 102 Thailand, 102 Vietnam, 114 9 REGIONAL REVIEW: TROPICAL LATIN AMERICA 117 Bolivia, 118 CONTENTS ix Brazil, 118 The Caribbean, 131 Central America, 131 Belize, 132; Costa Rica, 132; EI Salvador, 133; Guatemala, 134; Honduras, 134; Nicaragua, 134; Panama, 135 Colombia, 135 Ecuador, 141 French Guiana, 143 Guyana, 143 Mexico, 144 Peru, 145 Suriname, 148 Venezuela, 149 10 REGIONAL REVIEW: TROPICAL AFRICA 151 Cameroon, 151 Congo, 153 Gabon, 153 Ghana, 155 Ivory Coast, 156 Kenya, 159 Liberia, 160 Madagascar, 162 Nigeria, 162 Sierra Leone, 164 Tanzania, 164 Uganda, 165 Zaire, 165 11 SUMMATION 168 Differentiated Conversion Rates, 168 Problems of Documentation, 172 Comprehensive and Systematic Surveys, 174 Population Pressure, Especially from Forest Farmers, 174 Exceptionally Endangered Areas, 176 REFERENCES 177 APPENDIX 198 1 Methods This survey is an attempt to review widespread conversion patterns in a biome whose climatic range is reputed to cover 16 million km2 and whose present forest cover of different types is variously estimated to 2 cover 9-11 million km • An effort has been made to assess the respec­ tive impacts of at least four major forms of conversion, paying particu­ lar attention to a key question of assessment-reliability of information-as well as a host of additional factors. To accomplish as much as possible of these various objectives, the survey has adopted several approaches. PREVIOUS SURVEYS As a starting point, previous surveys, notably two surveys of the mid-I970s, were used as a basis from which to build. Replicating these previous surveys was not the intent (though an attempt was made, where appropriate, to up-date them), but rather assessing and evaluating the findings of previous surveys, and presenting a synoptic overview of information available as of early 1979-plus a review of gaps in our knowledge. Reports of the two surveys in question have been published by Persson (1974) and Sommer (1976). Each of these surveys has been conducted in whole or in part under the auspices ofthe Food and Agri­ culture Organization ofthe United Nations (FAO). FAO, as an agency of the United Nations, depends on reports submitted by Member State's 2 CONVERSION OF TROPICAL MOIST FORESTS for much of its information. While government organizations represent the principal, and often the sole, sources of information, this approach can sometimes be subject to basic constraints. It is dependent on the quantity and quality of information that governments wish to make available, and it effectively precludes FAO from applying the rigorous appraisal that should be an integral part of an objective survey (if governmental contributions are too closely scrutinized, they tend not to be furnished at all). This is not to say of course that the' FA 0 inves­ tigators in question have not done a competentjob with the information supplied to them. But all too often they have had to accept the information mostly at face value. The problems that these constraints present are wetl summarized by Sommer (1976), when he describes how he and his colleagues were confronted with "a voluminous mass of confusing reports, yielding very few facts." He indicates some of the major inadequacies charac­ terizing the documentation examined.
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