Plan unveiled to save tropical forests.Each year more than 11 million hectares of tropical forests -- an area larger than Austria -- are lost to agriculture, firewood collection, rural development and logging. That loss, besides wiping out 500 to 1,000 plant and animal species per year, affects more than 1 billion people by reducing the long-term agricultural productivity Agricultural productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural inputs to agricultural outputs. While individual products are usually measured by weight, their varying densities make measuring overall agricultural output difficult. of the land, contributing to deadly floods, to soil and water degradation, to fuel wood scarcity and ultimately to greater poverty, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (UNFAO UNFAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation ). And that explains the excitement engendered within the international-development community this week by a new five-year action plan to arrest and ultimately reverse this growing destruction of tropical forests. An international task force convened by the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNDP Unión Nacional para la Democracia y el Progreso (National Union for Democracy and Progress) ) and World Resources Institute Founded in 1982, the World Resources Institute (WRI) is an environmental think tank based in Washington, D.C. WRI is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical authored the plan. A report of their recommendations lists specific projects addressing the most critical individual needs of the 56 nations most affected by tropical deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. ; it includes the estimated cost of achieving these goals in each country. A 55-page appendix of case studies highlights successful small-scale projects that might serve as examples for plan implementers. According to the plan's authors, tropical reforestation Reforestation The reestablishment of forest cover either naturally or artificially. Given enough time, natural regeneration will usually occur in areas where temperatures and rainfall are adequate and when grazing and wildfires are not too frequent. and forest management must become essential components of any long-range plan to "alleviate [the region's] hunger and deprivation, arrest dangerous assaults on the planet's environmental support system and provide the basis for sustainable economic growth." World Bank President A. W. Clausen says the action plan "carries the Bank's full support"--despite its $8 billion price tag. The U.S. Agency for International Development, UNFAO and UNDP have also pledged to support the new action plan. Already under discussion as one of the first steps to implement the plan is a 1986 "summit" meeting of world leaders to iron out specific funding and political priorities. |
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