Reforestation, Conservation and Livelihoods

Abstract

Conservationists tend to view deforestation largely in terms of its impact on biodiversity. But, because of deforestation, there is an equally compelling human tragedy unfolding as well. Many people used these forests in the past and are now trying to make a living in the degraded forests and lands that have replaced them. Their numbers are large and some estimates suggest there are 300 million people across the tropical world dependent on degraded or secondary forest for their livelihoods (ITTO 2002). Within Asia, Poffenberger (2006) has estimated there are 140 million ‘forest-dependent’ people (or 30% of the population) in Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam alone. Some of these people live within the residual forests as shifting cultivators and hunter-gatherers. Others, such as farmers and artisans, live outside the forests but draw on them for various resources. When forests are degraded or lost it is the poorer people in these rural communities who are usually the most adversely affected. It is true that they themselves have sometimes contributed to the degradation process. But, as seen in Chapter 2, more often than not, degradation has been caused by the activities of the rich and more powerful members of society or by a lack of concern by governments about how forests and lands are managed.