Logging practices in the rainforest are generally misunderstood. Our goal is to help explain some
of the issues regarding rainforest logging and to help consumers make intelligent decisions
regarding lumber products from tropical South America and Southeast Asia.
Tropical logging in the rainforest is NOT clear cutting. Selective harvesting of
commercially viable species is the only economically
viable approach to logging. Clear-cutting occurs when land is cleared for farming and ranching.
For timber extraction, selective harvesting of between 20 and 200 trees per 1000 acres is
typical throughout tropical regions.
The greatest danger is the expansion of agricultural areas to grow food crops and
raise cattle. In order for farmers to cultivate the land for crops or cattle,
clear cutting must be done.
Government agencies such as IBAMA in Brazil and third party certification agencies such as the FSC, Forest
Stewardship Council, require land management plans which are based on selective and sustainable
logging practices.
Landowners and local people need a way to get value from their land. With reasonable market prices and
consumer support for tropical lumber products, the incentive to convert tropical forest to
agricultural use is minimized. It is a way of adding value to the standing forest.
Companies logging in the rainforest must submit detailed forest management plans in order to extract
timber. Each area to be logged is divided up into sections and trees are identified by specie. With
the assistance of GPS, detailed maps can be created on computers and by hand. Seed trees of each specie
are left so that natural regeneration may take place. Trees that are under certain sizes are also left
in place so that they may be cut in the next logging cycle in 20 to 30 years.
In many cases, government agencies will require that companies also replant areas that have been
cleared in the past. This is typically done with Teak or Mahogany plantations that can replace ranching
areas. It doesn’t take long to turn a bare patch of land into a plantation forest; after only 5 years,
the average height of these plantation trees is already 15 feet. Selective logging is THE
best way to add value to the STANDING forest resource. People live in the tropical forest
regions of the world and will use the forest
resource for their livelihood. The wood industry is well positioned to play a key role in
helping to preserve the tropical forests by providing value and jobs without chopping the forest down.
