Tropical forests

A fully revised and extended version of a report with the same title, first published in 1989. The book deals with an important but long neglected aspect of the use and management of tropical forests, analyzing the role of the vast array of non-timber forest products in the local and national economies of Southeast Asia. The term "non-timber forest products" encompasses all biological material other than timber which are extracted from forests for human use.

The threats to the forests of tropical America have been the centre of international environmental concern for some time, yet the material in this atlas highlights the continuing extent of scientific uncertainty over the critical issues that will determine the future use and conservation of these forests. Preceded by Asia and the Pacific, 1991; Africa, 1992 (both now out of print), this atlas completes the series.

Limits to expansion of protected area systems underline the importance of seeking new ways to conserve biodiversity. There are many examples where traditional rural communities have shown their capacity to maintain high biological and cultural diversity.

This account of extractive reserves in the Brazilian Amazon region provides practical examples of sustainability based on first-hand reports. The historical background is followed by examination of social organization, analyses of the economic viability of reserves, the key elements in developing an extractive reserve system, establishment of legislation in Brazil, and subsequent management. It underlines the importance of community involvement.

This series presents the results of an investigation by IUCN’s Global Change Programme into the possible implications of predicted global change for natural systems and their management. This publication examines issues specific to terrestrial ecosystems.

At the meeting of the International Tropical Timber Organization held in Bali in 1990, ITTO adopted the target of ensuring that all tropical timber marketed internationally should, by the year 2000, come from forests that are managed sustainably. This study is an attempt to determine whether the member countries of the ITTO have a legal and administrative basis for managing their production forests in ways which will allow these forests to contribute to biological diversity conservation.