Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests. From a critical analysis of the concept to an environmental evaluation of its management arrangements

Leroy, M.; Derroire, G.; Vendé, J.; Leménager, T.

Abstract:

Deforestation across the planet is now described as “alarming” by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), especially in the tropical regions. Yet, there has been a great deal of talk about “sustainable forest management”, even since the early 1990s. This commonly accepted term is, however, still surrounded by a persistent vagueness. How did this widespread concept emerge? What exactly is sustainable tropical forest management? How does it take shape on the ground, in the legislation of the tropical countries concerned and in the management arrangements and practices implemented? And how effective is it for the environment? These are the questions explored by this study, which uses a theoretical approach based on the management sciences, a bibliometric analysis of over 2,500 references and some forty interviews with key actors of “sustainable forest management”. It gives the reader new analytical insights into the concept and its environmental dimension by offering a complete panorama of the arrangements that are being promoted in tropical regions under the “sustainable forest management” umbrella. It also offers an analysis of how far this management has, or has not, succeeded in integrating the environmental issues threatening tropical forests.

Year:

2014

Type of Publication:

Book

Publisher:

Agence Française de Développement

Volume:

coll. A Savoir No. 18

Address:

Paris

Note:

236 p.