Loggers and Degradation in the Asia-Pacific

Book excerpt: Corporate loggers have damaged much of the tropical forest throughout the Asia-Pacific over the last four decades. Despite a steady rise in global and local concern, few firms have changed their practices. Loggers and Degradation in the Asia-Pacific examines why and how loggers have resisted and ignored calls for environmental reforms. Concentrating on the period after 1990, the book explains what is happening on the ground and highlights the structures within which firms and governments operate. Within this broader context the author considers a range of factors including: the science of tropical forest management, the capacity of states to regulate and enforce rules, the relative power of environmental reformers, and the 1997-9 Asian financial crisis. This is a constructive, insightful approach to a depressing, yet urgent, problem. It will be accessible to academic and student readers as well as those in corporations, government and NGOs.