Growing international concern over rainforest destruction has prompted widespread discussion of the issue of 'sustainability' and sustainable development. This attractive notion, defined most simply by the Brundtland Commission (body established following 1982 UN Conference on Environment and Development), as development which
"meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs" (1)
has entered into the vocabulary of many who are concerned with the conservation of tropical rainforests, from the individual consumer or professional timber specifier seeking non-destructively produced tropical hardwoods, to international aid agency officials who claim that only 'sustainable' tropical forest development projects should be supported.
The term is also now widely used by commercial interests, including timber producers and exporters, importers, distributors and retailers. However, most if not all such claims are, at best, misleading and at worst, dishonest.
The purpose of this briefing is to describe some of the underlying technical issues concerning 'sustainability' in tropical forests and thus to assess the validity of claims currently being made by companies involved in the trade in tropical timbers.
Every year, some 143,000 sq km of tropical moist forest are destroyed with a similar area being degraded or severely disrupted (2). Of this, logging directly effects between 45,000 sq km (3) and 50,000 sq km (4). Although loggers often 'selectively fell' a few preferred species, the process is often immensely destructive. To remove only two or three trees per hectare, logging equipment often destroys over 50% of the residual timber stand (5,6). Under such circumstances natural regenerative capacity is disrupted and the forest, if it recovers at all, is substantially altered. Such extraction techniques have no long-term future.
To satisfy the demand for tropical timbers, the logging industry continues
to exploit virgin rainforest in search of the mature, valuable and aesthetically
pleasing species. Logging roads and extraction tracks open up previously
inaccessible areas to shifted cultivators and landless migrants who
follow such routes into new areas and may clear the forests permanently
(7,8). This leads to an irreversible diminution in rainforest cover
which has negative effects for both the wildlife, the local human population
and the environment on which both depend.
Applying the general Brundtland definition of sustainable development to tropical timber production, for any operation to be sustainable it must be capable of repeat performances at the same level of output as the first. In terms of timber extraction this is most often applied simply to the quantity or monetary value of the timber removed from the forest; this approach can be described as 'fisco-sustainability'. An analysis of any given timber operation based purely on 'fisco- sustainability' would therefore not necessarily discriminate between the management of natural rainforest, substantial modification of that forest such as, for example, to greatly increase the proportion of commercially valuable tree species, or complete forest clearance for replacement with an entirely man-made forest consisting of only one species of tree.
Such a narrow approach to sustainability, which is often described by the term 'sustained yield', does not consider preservation of the biological integrity of the original forest ecosystem, such as whether species of wildlife are able to adapt to the new conditions created by logging or replanting. It also neglects maintenance of environmental services, such as watershed protection and soil conservation, and provision of services for local populations (jobs, food, materials). These, often ignored, elements, are respectively termed biological (bio-), environmental and social (socio-) sustainability.
Because not all definitions of 'sustainable tropical forest management' recognise these distinctions there has been considerable confusion in trying to define what is actually meant by the term. This has led to various authors questioning its very utility. Colchester, for example (9), has stated that "the fact that everyone who addresses this thorny topic has their own notion of what sustainable actually means, provides one of the main sources of confusion in this debate". The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) notes that "it is questionable whether one universal definition of 'sustainable management' is useful, because it will lend itself to different interpretations by different interests" (10).
The very ambiguity and lack of clear definition and understanding of the phrase has made it a convenient spring-board from which narrow commercial and political self-interests may be promoted. In a policy document for the World Bank, Lee Talbot, an ex-director of the International Union for Conservation and Nature (IUCN), and formerly an environmental consultant for the World Bank's Africa Environment Unit (AFTEN), concludes "sustainability is a smoke screen to cover destruction of irreplaceable forests for financial gain" (11).
True 'sustainability' of tropical forest management for timber production should therefore consider the ecological features of the forest, respecting the limitations to its natural regeneration, and maintaining its environmental and cultural functions.
As greater international attention has been focussed on the role of logging in causing tropical deforestation, so the search for examples of 'sustainable tropical forest management' has intensified. However, a number of authoritative studies have concluded that sustainable production of timber, even in the more limited concept of 'sustained yield management', is not occurring on any significant scale anywhere in the tropics. Increasingly, it is being held that, in many cases, it may not even be possible.
In a major study conducted for the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), IIED state that, in their view, it is premature to even discuss the potential of tropical moist forests for sustainable management. "It is not yet possible to demonstrate conclusively that any natural tropical forest anywhere has been successfully managed for the sustainable production of timber...This question cannot be answered with full vigour until a managed forest is in at least its third rotation" (10). The study adds elsewhere that, "when primary forest is first logged...quality and volume will probably not be matched in future cuts...unless the logged forest is closed to further exploitation for a century or more" (10). Whilst some management systems in Asia theoretically require felling cycles of up to 60 years (for example, Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia), this is rarely achieved in practice (10). Indeed many operators only hold title to the timber concession for 5 years, and sometimes as little as one year (7). This encourages a 'bonanza' approach to timber extraction, rather than long-term management.
Lee Talbot, as adviser to the World Bank, has stated, "in practical terms, no commercial logging of tropical forests has proven to be sustainable from the standpoint of the forest ecosystem, and any such logging must be recognized as mining, not sustaining the basic forest resource...It appears that true sustainability from natural tropical forest has yet to be proven" (11).
Professional foresters tend to agree. Professor Hans Lamprecht, with extensive experience of Latin American tropical forests, has noted, "the pressing question of to what extent a natural tropical forest ecosystem may be modified for economic reasons without seriously impairing its ability to function and survive cannot be answered on the present state of knowledge" (12).
Even within the negligible number of areas which the IIED study identified as being managed in a way that gave the potential for sustained yield, some of the methodologies have recently been challenged. The study concluded, for example, that 160,000 hectares of Queensland tropical moist forest was under sustained yield management. Keto et al. found that not only was forestry in the state heavily subsidised with public money (implying a lack of economic sustainability), but also that the sample plots used to collect data were unreliable (13). Malaysian experts believe that recent increases in logging in Peninsular Malaysia have rendered the achievement of sustainability increasingly unlikely (13).
Attaining sustainability is difficult technically, economically and politically. In terms of timber production the sustainability of any timber extraction system should be detectable only after a minimum of three cuts (ie. two rotations) (9, 12, 16). Rotation length is determined by the time it takes trees to grow to harvestable size (on average around 70cm diameter). For some species of tropical timbers this can be as little as 30 to 50 years (9, 16), but for many common timber species it can be double (eg. Mahogany 97 years) or more than treble that (eg. Iroko 154 years; Edinam 168 years; Afromosia 240 years; [see 17 for details]). Although, in theory, existing young commercial trees left by loggers would grow to harvestable size in shorter periods, for commercial enterprises the time needed for the preferred species to reach maturity is a long time to wait for return on capital investment. It is very common for logged forests to be re- logged before the required rotation period has expired (10).
In addition to time constraints, there are a number of other operational factors to consider. An operating horizon of at least 60 years requires political stability if continuity of commitment is to be attained. Such stability has been a rare feature of most countries where tropical rainforests occur.
There are also a number of problems associated with the prediction of markets for timber over such a time horizon. Fashions change, as do the relative prices of the various species being traded. It is therefore difficult to ensure predictable profitability for a particular stand so far into the future (see Goodland et al., 18, for fuller treatment of these considerations).
Tropical timbers are generally considered to be substantially undervalued in comparison to their temperate equivalents (9, 10, 18). For example, while tropical timbers like Afromosia, Sapele and Lauan can cost around £13-20 per cubic foot in UK, native hardwoods such as Ash, Cherry and Oak from the same supplier may cost between £16-65 (19). All are medium/high density woods used in interior joinery (19). It has been suggested that raising the price of tropical timbers would provide incentives for sustainability. However, this would have to be associated with an equitable division of the profits. According to some authors (eg. 17), the high profit margins enjoyed by some companies has failed to persuade them to operate in a less than cavalier fashion.
Though tropical forests contain a large number of tree species, very few are normally used for commercial purposes. Ghana, for example has an estimated 680 tree species [17], but only a dozen are regularly traded. The use of a greater range of species has been suggested as an option that would contribute to sustainability (20). This assumption is also increasingly being questioned, on the grounds that it may lead to almost complete forest clearance for timber, albeit over a theoretically smaller area (18,21). Concerns have also been raised over the dangers of exploiting tree species for which there may be little scientific knowledge of their distribution and conservation status or ecological requirements for successful regeneration (7, 10, 12, 22).
Finally, there is the option of replanting. This, despite industry claims, appears to happen very infrequently (15), or be undertaken with little or limited success (22). This is partly because such schemes are financially unattractive to timber companies under the present system of incentives (17, 22), and also because the species planted are frequently inappropriate or have poorly-known requirements (9, 12).
Ecological sustainability, or at least environmental best practice, has been sought through a range of forestry techniques (9, 12). These include enrichment planting (post-logging planting of favoured species in forests) and selective thinning and improvement cutting (where non- commercial species are removed to encourage growth of favoured species before cutting). These systems, especially the latter, have proven expensive in terms of time and labour and relied on active long-term management of forests. Mostly carried out by colonial forestry services, they have now been largely abandoned as uneconomic (9, 10, 12).
More recently, attempts at ecological sustainability have concentrated on limiting the damage caused during cutting and extraction. Some methods, particularly those used by certain small-scale community- based enterprises, show promise. Here trees are felled from narrow, widely-spaced, strips and the logs removed using the minimum of mechanical devices (23). This minimizes disturbance and, because the resulting gaps are small in relation to the surrounding undisturbed forest, maximises the possibilities that subsequent recolonisation will closely resemble that which would occur under the conditions of a natural tree-fall. Also, felled trunks are cut on site, minimizing road construction and so further reduces disturbance, damage and the possibility of colonization by landless subsistence farmers.
Attempts to provide tropical timber from plantations has largely failed. This is because, in nature, individuals of the same species are usually widely spaced. If concentrations of the same species occur (as in plantations), then fungal and insect pests populations quickly build up, reducing growth rates and, consequentially, yields (9, 10, 24). This kind of operational problem, combined with additional costs of pesticides and fertilizers, means that few such operations have ever been economically sustainable (see 24). A possible exception appears to be plantations of teak (Tectona grandis) on Java, but the ecology of teak is unusual in its affability to management in plantations (12).
Mixed species plantations are an option, but little work appears to have been done on them (10, 12, 18, 23). In addition, such operations, because of their highly simplified nature, are not biologically sustainable and do not provide the full range of environmental services that a natural forest does. They have also frequently been the focus of social problems (25,26). They have thus failed on all four types of sustainability.
Increasingly, timber companies and retailers are supplying claims of sustainability for their products. With a very few exceptions (see below), these same companies are in no position to verify or substantiate the authenticity of their claims. As the IIED concluded, "at present the extent of tropical moist forest which is being deliberately managed at an operational scale for the sustainable production of timber is, on the world scale, negligible" (10).
Various authoritative and independent studies have concluded, for the main tropical timber producing regions:
Latin America and the Caribbean:
"The total area being sustainably managed...is limited to 75,000
hectares in Trinidad and Tobago" (7).
"There are currently no large-scale sustained yield management programmes being implemented in the vast closed broad-leaved forests of tropical America" (11).
Africa:
"There are no sustained yield management systems that are being
practised over large areas in the six countries [Ghana, Liberia, Ivory
Coast, Cameroon, Gabon and Congo] studied" (7).
"With few exceptions...selective timber exploitation foresaw
a one- time use only and did not aim at long-term sustainable use...Equally
serious is the fact that tropical foresters too long deceived the world
by claiming that moist tropical forests could be sustainably logged
of a few valuable timber species" (12).
"The exploitation can be compared to that of a mine, a natural resource is being excavated without a guarantee of sustainable production" (14).
Asia:
"Nowhere has sustainable management been proven over even a single
rotation" (27)
Companies are also supplying guarantees direct from the producer countries.
Whilst in no way doubting the integrity of some forest departments'
attempts to carry out management plans for the 'sustainable' use of
the country's forests, profiles of the forestry sectors have concluded
that they are lacking in various categories to implement even basic
plans and guidelines. As Martin has concluded for West Africa, "following
World War II, commercial exploitation has increased to such an extent
that no West African forestry department was capable of enforcing the
law" (28).
Such statements are at odds with the assertions of individual timber companies and their national representatives, such as the Timber Trade Federation, that based on "a history of tropical forest management going back a hundred years ...rain forest can be managed for timber production and environmental protection" (15)
The outline criteria listed below are those that Friends of the Earth believes to be the minimum for guaranteeing that the manner in which the timber product was extracted constitutes a form of natural forest management that meets all four of the previously discussed aspects of sustainability:
At present, no tropical hardwood can be categorically stated to be from a sustainably managed source. However, some tropical timbers derive either from areas which have already been established as plantations or from natural rainforests which appear to be undergoing 'best management practice' where the scale of operation is so small, and non-mechanised, that there will be minimal disruption to biodiversity, ecological functions or important environmental services. The former include teak from Java and rubberwood from various south east Asian countries.
The latter consists only of timber imported from local community based
projects, and where thorough verification of sources of supply is conducted.
One company specialising in the importation of such timber is the Ecological
Trading Company (Tel. 091-276-5547).
Attempts to discourage imports of tropical timbers from non- sustainable sources have so far largely relied upon consumer concern and voluntary measures on the part of timber retailers and importers. At the international level, the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO) has agreed 'Guidelines' for the sustainable production of rainforest timber, but these have yet to be implemented by any tropical timber exporting country.
Whilst consumer campaigns have had a marked effect in reducing the UK's demand for rainforest timber, and the implementation of the ITTO Guidelines would encourage better forest management, Friends of the Earth believes that tropical timber imports should be controlled through comprehensive legislation. This would ensure that imports derived only from forests being managed under agreed criteria, preclude imports of threatened or endangered species, provide for greater funding for improved forest management activities, and establish mechanisms for verification, monitoring and certification of supplies from approved sources. Such legislation should be adopted on a Europe-wide basis.
Write to:
Your Member of Parliament
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Future'. Oxford University Press, Oxford (also known as "The Bruntland
Report").
(2) Myers N. (1989), 'Deforestation Rates in Tropical Forests and
their Climatic Implications'. Friends of the Earth, London.
(3) 'Tropical Forests: A Call for Action'. Report of an International
Task Force convened by the World Resources Institute, the World Bank
and the United Nations Development Programme, October 1985.
(4) Given D. (1990), 'Conserving Botanical Diversity on a Global Scale'.
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(5) Johns A.D. (1985), 'Selective Logging and Wildlife Conservation
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31, 355-375.
(6) Johns A.D. (1986), 'Effects of Habitat Disturbance on Rainforest
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(7) German Bundestag (1990), Protecting the Tropical Forest: a high
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of the 11th German Bundestag. Bonner Universitats-Buchdruckerei, Bonn.
(8) Westoby J. (1987), 'The Purpose of Forests - Follies of Development'.
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(9) Colchester M. (1990), 'The International Tropical Timber Organisation:
Kill or Cure for the Rainforests?'. The Ecologist, 20, 166-173.
(10) Poore D. (1989), 'No Timber Without Trees - Sustainability in
the Tropical Forest'. Earthscan, London.
(11) Talbot L.M. (1990), 'A Proposal for the World Bank's Policy and
Strategy for Tropical Moist Forests in Africa'. World Bank, AFTEN.
(12) Lamprecht H. (1989), 'Silviculture in the Tropics'. Deutsche
Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit, Germany.
(13) Pierce F. (1991), 'Hit and Run in Sarawak'. New Scientist, 126,
46-49.
(14) Keto A., Scott K. and Olsen M. (1990), 'Sustainable Harvesting
of Tropical Rainforests: A Reassessment'. Paper presented to the Eighth
Session of the International Tropical Timber Council, 16-23 May 1990,
Bali, Indonesia.
(15) Timber Trade Federation (1990), Forests Forever: a Campaign for
Wood.
(16) Poore D. (1988), 'The Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests'.
Paper presented at the International Seminar of Sustainable utilization
and Conservation of Tropical Forests, during the Fifth Session of the
ITTC, November 1987.
(17) Overseas Development Administration-Ghana Forest Department (1989),
'Ghana Forest Inventory Project Seminar Proceedings', 29-30 March 1989,
Accra.
(18) Goodland R.J.A., Asibey E.O.A and Post J.C. (1990), 'Tropical
Moist Forest Management: The Urgency of Transition to Sustainability'.
Environmental Conservation, 17, 303-318.
(19) James Latham plc (1990), Price Guide for Hardwoods, Softwoods,
Panel Products, Sawmilling and Kilning, February 1990.
(20) Gregersen H. and Lundgren A. (1990), 'Contributions of Tropical
Forests to Sustainable Development: The Role of Industry and the Trade.
Paper prepared for the ITTO seminar on sustainable development of tropical
forests, Bali, Indonesia May 19, 1990.
(21) International Timber Trade Organization (1991), Conservation
Concerns Relating to the Diversification of Species extracted for Timber,
Volume 1. Report of Pre-Project PCF(III)/2, Presented at eighth session
of ITTO, Quito, Ecuador, May-June 1991.
(22) Hurst P. (1990), 'Rainforest Politics: Ecological Destruction
in South-East Asia. Zed Books, London.
(23) Cox C. and Kwisthout H. (1989), Ecological Trading Company, A
Policy for Trading in Sustainably Produced Tropical Timber'. Ecological
Trading Company, June 1989.
(24) Fearnside P.M and Rankin J.M. (1985), 'Jari Revisited: Changes
and the Outlook for Sustainability in Amazonia's Largest Silvicultural
Estate'. Interciencia, 10, 121-129.
(25) Agarwal A. and Narain S., eds (1985), 'The State of India's Environment
1984-85: The Second Citizen's Report'. Centre for Science and Environment,
New Delhi.
(26) Lohmann L. (1990), 'The Scourge of Eucalyptus in Thailand'. The
Ecologist 20, 9-17.
(27) Schmidt R. (1987), 'Tropical Rain Forest Management'. Unasylva
39, 2-17.
(28) Martin, C (1991), 'The Rainforests of West African: Ecology,
Threats and Conservation'. Birkhauser, Basel.
(29) Oxford Forestry Institute-Timber Research and Development Association (1991), 'Pre-project Report on Incentives in Producer and Consumer Countries to Promote Sustainable Development of Tropical Forests'. Oxford Forestry Institute, Oxford.
Contact details:
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October 1997
Last modified: Jan 2002
