Tropical forests are disappearing at an unaltered pace, giving way to alternative land uses. This book gives an economic perspective on deforestation. Following a survey of different deforestation definitions, theories and empirical evidence, a case-study of Ecuador provides a versatile historical picture of factors affecting forest loss throughout different periods, regions and ecosystems. It is shown that policy and market failures alone cannot explain rapid deforestation; decision-makers follow a composite economic rationale in their continuous clearing of forests which can only be counteracted by concerted action.
Tropical forests are an undervalued asset in meeting the greatest global challenges of our time—averting climate change and promoting development. Despite their importance, tropical forests and their ecosystems are being destroyed at a high and even increasing rate in most forest-rich countries. The good news is that the science, economics, and politics are aligned to support a major international effort over the next five years to reverse tropical deforestation. Why Forests? Why Now? synthesizes the latest evidence on the importance of tropical forests in a way that is accessible to anyone interested in climate change and development and to readers already familiar with the problem of deforestation. It makes the case to decisionmakers in rich countries that rewarding developing countries for protecting their forests is urgent, affordable, and achievable.
Global Deforestation provides a concise but comprehensive examination of the variety of ways in which deforestation modifies environmental processes, as well as the societal implications of these changes. The book stresses how forest ecosystems may be prone to nearly irreversible degradation. To prevent the loss of important biophysical and socioeconomic functions, forests need to be adequately managed and protected against the increasing demand for agricultural land and forest resources. The book describes the spatial extent of forests, and provides an understanding of the past and present drivers of deforestation. It presents a theoretical background to understand the impacts of deforestation on biodiversity, hydrological functioning, biogeochemical cycling, and climate. It bridges the physical and biological sciences with the social sciences by examining economic impacts and socioeconomic drivers of deforestation. This book will appeal to advanced students, researchers and policymakers in environmental science, ecology, forestry, hydrology, plant science, ecohydrology, and environmental economics.
A multi-disciplinary team of authors analyze the economics of Brazilian deforestation using a large data set of ecological and economic variables. They survey the most up to date work in this field and present their own dynamic and spatial econometric analysis based on municipality level panel data spanning the entire Brazilian Amazon from 1970 to 1996. By observing the dynamics of land use change over such a long period the team is able to provide quantitative estimates of the long-run economic costs and benefits of both land clearing and government policies such as road building. The authors find that some government policies, such as road paving in already highly settled areas, are beneficial both for economic development and for the preservation of forest, while other policies, such as the construction of unpaved roads through virgin areas, stimulate wasteful land uses to the detriment of both economic growth and forest cover.
Types of economic deforestation models. Household and firm-level models. Regional-level models. National and macro-level models. Priority areas for future research.
This book is the result of over ten years of field research across Zambia. It covers the production and diverse uses of wood and non-wood forest products in different parts of Zambia. Although a short format, it is a multi-contributed work. It starts an overview of the forestry sector, and covers more specific areas like production, markets and trade of wood and non-wood products; the role of non-wood forest products in the livelihood of the local population, the contribution of the forestry sector to Zambia's overall economy and reviews of efforts to strategically utilize these resources for local economic, and sustainable, development. - A concise reference to understand key wood products, market dynamics, and role of forests in a developing nation - A useful guide for corporations, consultants, NGOs and international research organizations involved with sustainable development in Zambia as well as other nations in the SADC
A comprehensive and technical survey of forest resource economics, concentrating on developments in the last twenty years regarding policy instrument choice and uncertainty. The field of forest economics has expanded rapidly in the last two decades, and yet there exists no up-to-date textbook for advanced undergraduate-graduate level use or rigorous reference work for professionals. Economics of Forest Resources fills these gaps, offering a comprehensive technical survey of the field with special attention to recent developments regarding policy instrument choice and uncertainty. It covers all areas in which mathematical models have been used to explain forest owner and user incentives and government behavior, introducing the reader to the rigor needed to think through the consequences of policy instruments. Technically difficult concepts are presented with a unified and progressive approach; an appendix outlines the basic concepts from calculus needed to understand the models and results developed. The book first presents the historical and classic models that every student or researcher in forest economics must know, including Faustman and Hartman approaches, public goods, spatial interdependence, two period life-cycle models, and overlapping generations problems. It then discusses topics including policy instrument choice, deforestation, biodiversity conservation, and age-class based forest modeling. Finally, it surveys such advanced topics as uncertainty in two period models, catastrophic risk, stochastic control problems, deterministic optimal control, and stochastic and deterministic dynamic programming approaches. Boxes with empirical content illustrating applications of the theoretical material appear throughout. Each chapter is self-contained, allowing the reader, student, or instructor to use the text according to individual needs.
Forestry cannot be isolated from the forces that drive all economic activity. It involves using land, labour, and capital to produce goods and services from forests, while economics helps in understanding how this can be done in ways that will best meet the needs of people. Therefore, a firm grounding in economics is integral to sound forestry policies and practices. This book, a major revision and expansion of Peter H. Pearse’s 1990 classic, provides this grounding. Updated and enhanced with advanced empirical presentation of materials, it covers the basic economic principles and concepts and their application to modern forest management and policy issues. Forest Economics draws on the strengths of two of the field’s leading practitioners who have more than fifty years of combined experience in teaching forest economics in the United States and Canada. Its comprehensive and systematic analysis of forest issues makes it an indispensable resource for students and practitioners of forest management, natural resource conservation, and environmental studies.
This title was first published in 2003. The 'Economics of Forestry' is a specialized subset of resource economics addressing a specific natural resource - the forest - which is usually a relatively long time period. Hence, forest economics has characteristics similar to nonrenewable resources but also has those of a renewable resource, in some cases approaching those of agriculture. This volume comprises some of the most significant journal essays in forest economics and forest policy. The International Library of Environmental Economics and Policy explores the influence of economics on the development of environmental and natural resource policy. In a series of twenty five volumes, the most significant journal essays in key areas of contemporary environmental and resource policy are collected. Scholars who are recognized for their expertise and contribution to the literature in the various research areas serve as volume editors and write essays that provides the context for the collection. Volumes in the series reflect three broad strands of economic research including 1) Natural and Environmental Resources, 2) Policy Instruments and Institutions and 3) Methodology. The editors, in their introduction to each volume, provide a state-of-the-art overview of the topic and explain the influence and relevance of the collected papers on the development of policy. This reference series provides access to the economic literature that has shaped contemporary perspectives on land use analysis and policy.
