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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 10, NUMBER 5, MAY 1997

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...
DEFORESTATION

Item #d97may8

"Democracy, Political Instability and Tropical Deforestation," D.O. Didia (Dept. Business Admin., State Univ. of New York, Brockport NY 14420), Global Environ. Change, 7(1), 63-76, Apr. 1997.

Constructs a democracy index variable for 55 countries in the tropical world and compares it to deforestation from 1981 to 1985. Finds a strong negative correlation between the level of democracy and the rate of tropical forest exploitation; discusses implications for global policy.

Item #d97may9

"Ecocolonialism and Indigenous-Controlled Rainforest Preserves in Samoa," P.A. Cox (General & Honors Educ., Brigham Young Univ., Provo UT 84602), T. Elmqvist, Ambio, 26(2), 84-89, Mar. 1997.

Establishment of several Samoan preserves that are owned, controlled and managed by villagers resulted in conflict between villagers and the western NGOs that assisted in fund raising, and who were unwilling to accept indigenous control and decision making. This article analyzes how even well-intentioned conservation efforts by NGOs may fail if there is an unwitting disparagement of the traditional knowledge, culture, political systems, and integrity of indigenous peoples.

Item #d97may10

"Ecological Certification of Forest Products: Economic Challenges," C.F. Kiker (Dept. Food & Resour. Econ., Univ. Florida, Gainesville FL 32611), F.E. Putz, Ecol. Economics, 20(1), 37-51, Jan. 1997.

Develops the concept of ecological certification, which assures consumers that products have been produced with practices that meet fundamental ecological and social standards. Analyzes relationships among the many actors and the relationship of the actors to the forest.

Item #d97may11

"Measuring Tropical Deforestation: Development of the Methods," M.W. Downton (Environ. & Societal Impacts Group, NCAR, POB 3000, Boulder CO 80307), Environ. Conservation, 22(3), 229 ff., Autumn 1995.

Traces the controversy over measurements of the degree of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and discusses the need for critical evaluation of their accuracy. The range of estimates has been narrowed in recent studies; Landsat data indicate that the deforestation rate declined considerably from 1988 to 1991. Discusses data needs for the future, and how scientists who will collect the data should interact with the countries they are studying.