On the edge: the state and fate of the world's tropical rainforests: a report to the Club of Rome

Description

In 1972, The Limits to Growth introduced the idea that world resources are limited. Soon after, people became aware of the threats to the world's rainforests, the biggest terrestrial repositories of biodiversity and essential regulators of global air and water cycles. Since that time, new research and technological advances have greatly increased our knowledge of how rainforests are being affected by changing patterns of resource use. Increasing concern about climate change has made it more important than ever to understand the state of the world's tropical forests. This book provides an up-to-;Cover; Table of Contents; Foreword; Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1 -- A DESTRUCTIVE TWENTIETH CENTURY: The Rising Consciousness; 2- MONITORING TROPICAL RAINFOREST TRENDS: A Tortuous Exercise; BOX 2.3: Cláudio C. Maretti; 3 -- GLOBAL AND REGIONAL DEFORESTATION PATTERNS; BOX 3.1: Ralph M. Ridder; SPECIALIST'S VIEW: Jeffrey Sayer; 4 -- THE ROOT CAUSES OF DEFORESTATIONAND FOREST DEGRADATION; SPECIALIST'S VIEW: Jürgen Blaser; 5 -- FOREST TRANSITIONS: Modest Hopes; 6 -- RAINFOREST BIODIVERSITY: Treasures without Price Tags; SPECIALIST'S VIEW: David Kaimowitz.