Tropical Deforestation and Rainforest Degradation

Abstract

The critical approach to regime analysis developed in the previous chapter directs us to examine specific issue areas when analysing the process of regime formation. This requirement necessitates in turn a solid grounding in the issue area being investigated. The purpose of this chapter is to review the tropical forestry literature and to set out the statistical evidence on tropical deforestation and rainforest degradation. A good grasp of the technical and statistical aspects of the tropical forest industry is vital to understanding the debates that have taken place over the rights, rules and compliance mechanisms of the tropical timber trade regime. This chapter sets the scene for a discussion of the structure and operation of the international tropical timber trade in the next chapter and for the later examination of the politics of regime formation.