Trees, not talk.

Curbing forest loss was a high priority at the 1992 Rio summit, but since then international negotiations to stop the ravaging of forests have generated only vague proposals and little government action. The shocking rate of natural forest loss that captured the world's attention during the 1980s continued unabated during the 1990s. The area lost since 1980 is larger than India. Watchdog groups have shown that actual forest loss is higher than those official estimates, in part due to the massive scale of illegal logging and timber trade.

The most effective actions in the last 10 years, and those that hold the most promise, have largely bypassed official processes. The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), made up of industry and citizen groups, has accelerated progress toward sustainable forest management by harnessing market forces. European consumer boycotts of Canadian timber and the activism of Canadian NGOs pressured the British Columbia government to reform logging practices. Monitoring and activist groups have forced governments to acknowledge and act against illegal logging and trade, leading Brazil to ban cutting and exporting mahogany, and the United States and some European countries to seize imports of the illegal wood.

During the last decade governments have had plenty of time to talk about forest loss. At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, about to begin in Johannesburg, they must commit to action in five key areas:

* Eliminate illegal logging and trade. Governments must step up enforcement of domestic and international laws against illegal logging and trade. Corruption and illegal activity destroy forests and biodiversity, bankrupt treasuries, fund criminal activities, impoverish people, and undermine the rule of law. The billions of dollars now lost to national treasuries could instead be used for erasing debt and promoting sustainable development.

* Reduce unsustainable levels of consumption. Almost four-fifths of the world's commercial timber harvest is consumed by the one-fifth of the world's people living in North America, Europe, and Japan.

* Improve and accelerate forest monitoring. Three-quarters of developing countries have never carried out a forest inventory, or have done only one. Independent groups have had much success in monitoring forest conditions, assessing official data, tracking illegal forest destruction, and increasing transparency. Governments and donors should build on these successes and commit to ensuring rigorous and repeated assessments of forest cover and quality in every nation.

* Adopt better forest management strategies. Stop cutting natural forests to establish plantations (about half of all plantations established in the 1990s came at the expense of natural forests); restore forested landscapes; and increase the total area of forest certified to FSC standards, especially in developing nations.

* Uphold the rights of forest-dependent peoples. At least 500 million of the world's poorest people depend directly on forests. Governments should stop expropriating and exploiting forests in the name of poverty reduction and national development in ways that impoverish forest-dependent people.

Janet N. Abramovitz is formerly a Senior Researcher at Worldwatch and currently an independent consultant.