The Impacts of Commercial Timber Extraction in Tropical Rainforests
A review carried out for: The Rainforest Foundation UK, Rettet den Regenwald, Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, The Environmental Defense Fund, and Greenpeace International
Published by: Friends of the Earth Trust/The Rainforest Foundation
June 1999
It is widely recognized that logging is one of the main causes of forest degradation and loss in tropical forests today. Yet more forest than ever is degraded or lost due to the activities of the timber industry, be it logging in primary forests, 'selective logging' of non regenerating species, illegal logging or clearing of land for timber plantations.
This report, which is a follow-up to Friends of the Earth's Life after Logging published in 1992, provides the latest research on the impacts of logging on a rainforest's structure, its physical functions, its wildlife and its people. The methods of 'reduced impact logging' are also examined and the question of whether sustainable forest management in tropical rainforests is actually possible is explored.
Providing examples from tropical forests all over the world, this report sends a sobering message to the timber industry, governments and international institutions that many factors have to be taken into account before deciding whether a logging operation is truly 'sustainable.'
This report concludes with the need for more research into so-called 'reduced impact logging' and above all for the precautionary principal to be reflected upon and implemented throughout all forest policies.
Preface
This report is a revised edition of a report published by friends of the earth in 1992. While it draws upon that earlier work, it also aims to review the significant development in scientific understanding of the impacts of logging that has taken place in the intervening years. In recognition of the increasing importance with which these developments are considered, this report is a collaborative effort between a number of international non-governmental organizations concerned with tropical rainforest protection.
We believe that this review is particularly timely: the last six years have seen important changes taking place in the landscape of forest policy at the global level, as well as, in many countries, at the national and local levels. There have been important shifts in the political economy of the tropical timber trade, particularly the global expansion of Asian logging companies into new frontier forest areas. New alliances have been forged between, for example, some conservation organizations and the private sector.
One of the most significant developments has been the various attempts at establishing regional and global principles and criteria for forest management, as well as verification and certification systems based upon these principles and criteria. These developments may open up possibilities for objective assessment of the performance of forest managers, thus greatly facilitating the implementation of policy, such as the targeted application of appropriate incentives and disincentives.
In a few cases, these attempts have been linked to practical initiatives to develop ecologically and socially benign forms of forestry operations. However, such initiatives have remained very limited in number; the last seven years have been characterized by much worthy rhetoric but very little meaningful action on the part of governments and the private sector in improving the environmental and social performance of the tropical timber trade.
The production of this report also marks the passing of ten years since the publication of the seminal work No Timber Without Trees (Poore, 1989), which lucidly revealed the failure to establish sustainable forest management (SFM) in anything but a tiny fraction of the forest area accounted for by members of the International Tropical Timber Organization. The present report does not attempt to systematically assess the occurrence of SFM as did Poore and his team, but it is clear that one of the most significant failures of the last decade has been the ITTO's Target 2000. This initiative, much heralded by the international community during the early 1990's, appears to have achieved virtually nothing in terms of putting the tropical timber industry on a sustainable basis by the end of the millenium.
Controversy has continued over the level of responsibility of the timber industry in causing and promoting tropical deforestation. An increasing body of evidence suggests that the commercial timber industry must shoulder a larger share of the responsibility. For example, the World Resources Institute has found that "commercial logging poses by far the greatest danger to frontier forests" (Bryant et al, 1997). The work of the European Union Joint Research Center on tropical deforestation hotspots has shown that a significant number of these are threatened principally by commercial logging, especially in Southeast Asia (Achard et al, 1998). Despite these important and rigorous studies, the debate about the role of the timber industry appears often to have been conducted in a poorly informed way, using incompatible terminology and definitions. International and policy fora such as the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests have tended to continue to attribute the larger part of the blame for tropical deforestation on agriculturalists and the rural poor.
Also, it is not clear that the development of principles, criteria and certification systems has always been able to take into account the complex ecological conditions prevailing in most tropical rainforest areas. This is not surprising, as the relevant literature is highly diverse, fragmented, often very technical, and has largely been unavailable to decision-makers.
This review is an effort to rectify that situation by setting out some of the key issues in understanding the impacts of logging in tropical rainforests.
It is not exhaustive, but summarizes many of the main papers and reports from the relevant scientific and technical disciplines. The emphasis is on ecological and environmental impacts of logging; social issues are touched upon, but not in great detail. This is not an indication that these issues are considered to be of any less importance, but merely that they have been well documented elsewhere.
Sections 1-3 consider, in turn, the evidence of the impacts of logging on forest structure and the development of secondary vegetation, on the forest as habitat for wildlife, and on the physical (environmental) functions of the forest. Section 4 then reviews the literature on logging as a catalyst for further damage by other agents of change. Section 5 briefly addresses some of the social and economic impacts of logging on human societies; it is limited to a brief review of the impact on communities native to tropical rainforest areas, and a consideration of some of the economic questions concerning sustainable forest management. Section 6 considers attempts to reduce the various impacts of commercial logging. Section 7 reviews the historical record of 'sustainable natural forest management' and considers the possible implications of this record for present policy. Conclusions and discussion follow in section 8.
It is felt that the findings of this report have broad significance for policy-making in respect of tropical forest logging, and are potentially applicable to many and varied policy processes. For this reason, specific recommendations directed at specific institutions and processes have not been made. The aim of the discussion section is to question whether current approaches to tropical forest logging policy are always appropriate, and to cause a general re-appraisal of the way that these issues are dealt with in the future.
Contents of the Report
Effects of Commercial Logging on Forest Structure and Regeneration
The Logged Forest as Habitat for Wildlife
Impacts of Commercial Logging on the Physical Functions of the Forest
Logging as a Catalyst for Further Damage
Social and Economic Impacts of Commercial Logging
Reducing the Adverse Effects of Commercial Logging
Is There Such a Thing As Sustainable Management of Tropical Rainforest?
Summary, Conclusions and Discussion
Resources
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The Rainforest Foundation Rettet den Regenwald |
Friends of the Earth Environmental Defense Fund Greenpeace International |
The full report, Life After Logging: The Impacts of Commercial Timber Extraction in Tropical Rainforests, is available for $15 postpaid including shipping and handling.
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