Deforestation

Two and a half billion people are affected directly on a day-to-day basis by the allocation and use of purely local resources. Yet "official" development economics has concentrated on headline international issues and only recently begun to take account of the dependence of poor countries on their natural resources, the link between acute poverty and environmental degradation, and the problems associated with the management of local common property such as soil and soil cover, water, forests and their products, animals and fisheries. In this volume, part of the WIDER Program on the Economics of the Environment, expert contributors provide a set of authoritative studies of emerging development issues, ranging from foundational matters to case studies, original research (in areas where there has been a paucity of work) to survey papers. They address both analytic and empirical issues on the role of environmental resources in the development process, presenting explanations of existing situations and policies for the future. A wealth of interests and backgrounds is represented, and reflected in the cross-fertilization between papers.

Dunn and Kinney argue that the environmental movement as it now operates is counterproductive; solutions can be found only through rational, non-political efforts based on reality, not ideological propaganda. The authors show what the facts are and how they have been distorted to benefit what are often misguided, self-serving political agendas. For anyone uncertain of the facts and baffled by conflicting viewpoints, Conservative Environmentalism will come as fresh air, bringing hope and encouragement that solutions are possible. To solve the problems they see, the Left uses regulations that severely impede technology and efficient productivity - the very things that improve environmental conditions. Rather than supporting the regulation of industrial productivity, Dunn and Kinney argue for its expansion. The authors compare "downside" and "upside" effects of environmental actions in both First World and Third World countries and examine the negative effects that U.S. EPA and USAID edits and proscriptions have on development and the environment.

Following a survey of deforestation definitions, theories and empirical evidence, a case study of Ecuador provides a historical picture of factors affecting forest loss throughout different periods, regions and ecosystems.

Anthony V. Catanese is professor of economics at DePauw University.

The Selva Lacandona of Chiapas, Mexico, has received a tremendous amount of attention since the Zapatista uprising began in 1994. Concerns have focused on both the rapid rate of deforestation in Mexico's largest tropical rain forest & the social marginalization of its inhabitants, which is considered to be a root cause of the uprising. In this book, Karen O'Brien presents an insightful analysis of how deforestation & social struggles are related in this region & then considers the implications of these links for the remaining forest. A valuable tool for scholars of deforestation, environmental change, & political ecology, Sacrificing the Forest will also be of interest to readers trying to understand the current situation in Chiapas.

Presenting an economic perspective of deforestation in the Brazilan Amazon, this study utilizes economic and ecological data from 1970 to 1996. It examines the extent to which land clearing promotes economic activity and growth and analyzes policies such as road building and subsidized credit. It explores whether the economic benefits of land clearing surpass the ecological costs and considers the viability of extractivism as an alternative to deforestation.