Tropical Forests, International Jungle

Marie-Claude Smouts looks at the issue of rain forest depletion and global environmental policies. Beginning with how the issue entered the world stage in the 1980s despite alarms over the issue in the 1950s, Tropical Forests, International Jungle explores the complexities of what are tropical forests, what role they play not only in environmentalism but in trade, health care, and almost every facet of natural and social life for those living there and beyond. Although for most in the developed world tropical forests have gained a status of part of our world heritage, these forests are not really part of the global commons or a global public good. Developing nations maintain control over the forests within their borders and often use the forests as they see fit. The international system for mediating the issue is a fractured group of non-governmental organizations and transnational networks, often with competing views of how to manage tropical forests. Despite this seemingly grim picture, Smouts is optimistic. A changing world view toward forest depletion is influencing countries both North and South. Although forests will be used commercially, it is a dynamic process that should maintain them far into the future.

Auteur
MARIE-CLAUDE SMOUTS is research director at CERI and professor at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris.

Contenu
Introduction The Political Construction of an Ecological Concept The Ecological Functions of an Endangered Heritage The Stakes of Multifunctionality Sustainable Development and Political Rhetoric Tropical Forests and Global Politics PART I: THE CONSTRUCTION OF A GLOBAL ISSUE Versions of Deforestation The TFAP: a Techno-bureaucratic Production Versions of Survival: From Chico Mendes to Indigenous Peoples The Global Register: The Greenhouse Effect and Biodiversity The Forest as World Heritage Of Game and Trees PART II: A GOOD IN SEARCH OF A DEFINITION Uncertain Knowledge Controversial Definitions Competing Programs Forest Vigilantes Competing Epistemic Communities Forestry: A Profession in Suspension The Discreet Charm of Economics The Counteroffensive of the Social Sciences PART III: DEFORESTATION: AN ENDLESS DEBATE Seeking the Guilty Party The Poor Versus the Forest? The Agricultural Paradigm Intertwined Responsibilities The Example of the Amazon Industry and Large Construction Projects Forest Fires With a Message PART IV: THE TIMBER TRADE: GUILTY PARTY AND SCAPEGOAT A Complex System of Interactions A Commodity Rationale A Changing Geography The Appeal of Paper A Changing Political Economy Asian Competition Microeconomic Networks and Illegal Dealings PART V: ECOPOLITCS INCH BY INCH The Emergence of a Normative Discourse The Forest Convention: a Premature Ambition ITTO, FAO, the World Bank: a Continuing Education Salvation Through the Market? The Merchandising of Functions The Price of Sinks PART VI: CONSERVING THE TROPICAL FOREST The Social Costs of Conservation Protect What and How? Conserve From Whom? What Funding for the Global Common Good? Sustainable Forest Management: a Conflictual Notion An Elastic Content To Each His Own Truth The French Gamble Ecocertification and Labeling Schemes The Round Dance of Criteria and Indicators The Rise in Power of the Forest Stewardship Council The Battle of Certificates Beneath the Conflicts, Ethics? Conclusion