Loggers and Degradation in the Asia-Pacific

Corporate loggers have irreparably 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 is notable for explaining what is happening on the ground as forests continue to disappear as well as highlighting the settings within which firms and governments operate. 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, the 1997-99 Asian financial crisis and the nature of corporate structures, goals and profits in a context of high uncertainty. The book takes a constructive, insightful approach to a depressing, yet urgent, problem. The first comprehensive explanation of the environmental actions of corporate loggers, and their implications, in the tropical Asia-Pacific, it will be accessible to academic and student readers as well as those in corporations, government and NGOs.<BR>