Technologies to Sustain Forest Resources (March 1984)
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Technologies To Sustain Forest Resources March 1984 OTA-F-515 NTIS order #PB92-182104 Recommended Citation: Technologies to Sustain Tropical Forest Resources (Washington, D. C.: U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, OTA-F-214, March 1984). Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 84-601018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 Foreword The United States has a stake in the sustained economic development of tropical nations for humanitarian, political, and economic reasons. To a great extent, the development of these nations depends on increasing production from their poten- tially renewable soil, forest, and water resources. But tropical forest resources, which cover nearly one-half of the tropical nations’ land, are being consumed at a rate that may make them nonrenewable. They are exploited for timber and cleared for pasture and cropland with little regard for their abilities to produce—in a long- term sustainable fashion—important goods, maintain soil productivity, regulate water regimes, or regenerate themselves. Much of the recent deforestation occurs where the new land uses cannot be sustained and it causes productivity losses that tropical nations and the world can ill afford. International recognition of the importance of tropical forests, and efforts to sustain the productivity of these resources, have increased significantly in the last decade. In 1980, the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sub- committee on International Organizations, held hearings on tropical deforestation. The committee then requested the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) to con- duct a more thorough assessment of the problem, the technologies that could help sustain tropical forest resources, and possible options for Congress. The Subcom- mittee on Insular Affairs of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and the Subcommittee on Environmental Pollution of the Senate Committee on Public Works endorsed the request. The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources asked that the assessment specifically address forest resources of the U.S. insular territories in the Caribbean and western Pacific. The report and its two background papers (Reforestation of Degraded Lands and U.S. and Interna- tional Institutions) identify and discuss in-depth some of the constraints and op- portunities to develop and implement forest-sustaining technologies. OTA greatly appreciates the contributions of the advisory panel and workshop participants assembled for the study, the authors of the commissioned technical papers, and the many others who assisted us, including liaisons from other Govern- ment agencies. As with all OTA studies, however, the content of the report is the sole responsibility of OTA. iii Technologies to Sustain Tropical Forest Resources Advisory Panel Leonard Berry, Panel Chairman Center for Technology, Environment, and Development Clark university Eddie Albert Jan Laarman Conservationist Department of Forestry North Carolina State University Hugh Bollinger Vice President Charles Lankester Native Plants, Inc. U.N. Development Programme Robert Cassagnol Robert Owen Technical Committee Chief Conservationist (retired) CONAELE Trust Territory of the Pacific IsZands Robert Cramer Christine Padoch Former President Institute of Environmental Studies Virgin Islands Corp. University of Wisconsin Gary Eilerts Allen Putney Appropriate Technology International ENCAMP West Indies Lab John Ewel Department of Botany Jeff Romm University of Florida Department of Forestry University of California Robert Hart Winrock International John Terborgh Department of Biology Susanna Hecht Princeton University Department of Geography University of California Henry Tschinkel Regional Office for Central American Programs Marilyn Hoskins Agency for International Development Department of Sociology U.S. Department of State Virginia Polytechnic Institute John Hunter* Michigan State University Norman Johnson Vice President, North Carolina Region Weyerhaeuser Co. *Resigned in July 1982. iv OTA Staff on Technologies to Sustain Tropical Forest Resourses H. David Banta* and Roger Herdman, * * Assistant Director, OTA Health and Life Sciences Division Walter E. Parham, Program Manager Food and Renewable Resources Program Analytical Staff Susan Shen, Forester Alison Hess, Resource Economist Chris Elfring, Science Journalist Eric Hyman, Environmental Planner*** Denise Toombs, Resource Policy Analyst*** Jim Kirshner, Resource Policy Analyst*** Bruce A. Ross-Sheriff, Geographer, Project Director Administrative Staff Phyllis Balan, Administrative Assistant Nellie Hammond, Secretary Carolyn Swarm, Secretary OTA Publishing Staff John C. Holmes, Publishing Officer John Bergling Kathie S. Boss Reed Bundy Debra M. Datcher Joe Henson Glenda Lawing Linda A. Leahy Cheryl J. Manning Technology Transfer Workshop Ron Stegall, Chairman Development Consultant Washington, D.C. Anil Agarwal Gerald Murray Centre for Science and Environment Pan American Development Foundation New Delhi, India Haiti Jose Roberto Castillio Gunnar Poulsen Farmer/Businessman Tropical Forestry Consultant Mexico Denmark Merrill Conitz David Richards Agency for International Development Appropriate Technology International Nairobi, Kenya Washington, D.C. Robert Fishwick Skip Stiles World Bank Office of Congressman George E. Brown, Jr. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Marilyn Hoskins Virginia Polytechnic Institute Blacksburg, Va. Systems Analysis Workshop Donella H. Meadows, Chairwoman Resource Policy Center, Dartmouth College Jeffrey Gritzner John Terborgh Board on Science and Technology Department of Biology for International Development Princeton University National Academy of Sciences Frank Wadsworth Jeff Romm Institute of Tropical Forestry Department of Forestry Puerto Rico University of California vi Chapter Page Introduction . ........... 3 I. Summary . .. .. .. ... ... ... .... 9 Z. Importance of Tropical Forests . 37 3. Status of Tropical Forests . 63 q. Causes of Deforestation and Forest Resource Degradation . 85 5. Organizations Dealing With Tropical Forest Resources . 105 6. U.S. Tropical Forests: Caribbean and Western Pacific. 127 --&. Technologies for Undisturbed Forests . ............... 159 8. Technologies to Reduce Overcutting. 177 9. Forestry Technologies for Disturbed Forests . 195 1O. Forestry Technologies to Support Tropical Agriculture. ., . 219 11. Resource Development Planning . 243 12. Education, Research, and Technology Transfer . 257 13. Forestry Technologies for U.S. Tropical Territories. 275 14. Options for Congress. 301 Appendix Page A. Status of Tropical Forests: Tables . 323 B. Glossary . 332 C. Commissioned Papers . 336 Index . 341 vii Introduction ● Introduction Each year, 11.3 million hectares of the Depending on the methods of management, Earth's remaining tropical forests (an area these natural resources may be sustained or un roughly the size of Pennsylvania) are cleared sustained. Sustained resources are those in and converted to other land uses or to unpro which the inherent productivity is not dimin ductive land. Where the land can support sus ished over time. Conversely, unsustained re tainable agriculture, deforestation may be ben sources suffer declining or degraded produc eficial. But most of the Tropics' remaining for tivity. Productivity of almost any land can be est land cannot sustain continuous farming or sustained by applying substantial inputs (e.g., grazing using current practices and so is soon fertilizer, water), but this is not the general abandoned. The abandoned land has lost much practice on tropical lands. of its inherent productivity-a loss the tropical nations and the world can ill afford. The Undisturbed forest is the only productive form that maintains itself without human man United States, hO\AleVer, can contribute expere agement. Four of the land types-cropland, tise to develop and disseminate technologies grazing land, secondary forest, and manmade that could reduce the need to convert forests forest-potentially are interchangeable. For ex to unsustainable land uses. ample, cropland can be fallowed into grazing Forest land and former forest land in tropical land, which can be planted with trees. In some areas can be classified as undisturbed forest, cases, several land uses can be realized simul disturbed forest (secondary forest and man taneously-e.g., agroforestry can combine made forest), converted land (cropland and agriculture, forestry, and grazing. Little, if any, grazing land), and unproductive land. * The land changes back into undisturbed forest or products from these lands differ, with the most out of unproductive land, although in theory actively managed lands-cropland and man undisturbed forest might be regenerated from made forest -generally yielding the highest other land types or unproductive land might economic value. Secondary forest is often per be made productive if given enough investment ceived as relatively unproductive. Yet all for or time to recuperate (fig. 1). ested land provides important services includ ing climate and runoff regulation, water reten Because this process moves tropical land tion, and maintenance of an enormous, still-un from forest to unproductive land rapidly and cataloged stock of species. from unproductive land back to forest more slowly, the area of unproductive land is grow ·Undisturbed forest-natural tropical forest with at most a ing steadily. Thus, serious land degradation is few