- Deforestation in the tropics is on a massive scale and logging in still spreading
- Conservationists developed a method called forest management tor educe the problem
- Forest management would mean less trees to be destroyed because when you cut one you plant one, in that way both parties arebenefited.
- Mahogany is one of the most valuable species in tropics.
- Mahogany and other trees can’t grow sufficiently naturally, human intervention is needed
- This human intervention however could threaten the biodiversity of the tropics
- Less than 1/8 of 1% of production forests use a sustainable-yield basis
- Logging companies generally show little Concern for the condition of residual stands and make no investment in regeneration.
- Real price increases for mahogany averaged 1 percent a year,whereas the average Annual growth in volume of commercial-size mahogany trees is typically less than 4 percent.
- There are different means to destroy trees other than humans like fire or disease.
- Leaving mahogany growing amounts to a rather uncertain investments the same as the profit obtained by harvesting the trees and banking the profits.
- Unrestricted logging is from two to five times more profitable than logging in a way that would ensure a continued supply of mahogany.
- The most rational approach to logging appears to be harvesting all the available mahogany first, avoiding future then moving on in equence to all species that yield a positive net return.
- The estimated current logging practice causes considerably less damage than some forms of sustainable management.
- Sustainability is a poor guide to the environmental harm caused by timber operations.
- It also doesn't guarantee a low environmental toll.
- Ideas and approaches often fail to distinguish between the profitability of logging existing forests and the profitability of investing inregeneration.
- Timber companies are likely to resist any restrictions at all on their movements. Timber companies can designate up to 30 percent of their concessions as off-limits to logging. Policy should encourage loggers to protect commercially marginal lands.
- Tropical forests should be protected because they harbor most of the planet’s biodiversity
- Half the species identified so far live in tropical forests.
- About 120 clinically useful prescription drugs come from 95 species of plants, 39 from tropics
In this article the author talks about how proper management we can save tropical forests species by using sustainable logging. Consumers have been shown willing to pay up to 10% more for sustainable lumber.In the Chimanes region, unrestricted logging shows to be 2-5% more profitable. This makes the rational economic approach to harvest all available mahogany, avoiding future investments in future harvests and then moving to the next specie which shows a positive net return. Only 1/8 of 1% of production forests use a sustainable yield basis. If biodiversity is more important, then a low impact unsustainable choice is better. Forest management would mean a limit of trees to be cut as well as replacing them benefiting producers and conservation. Most likely at the moment and near future, sustainable forest logging is unlikely to become widespread. Conservationists should find a form of protection for these forests in the long run while these forests still remain.