The potential of secondary forest management from a development policy point of view--an overview

摘要

While areas covered with tropical secondary forests are growing fast knowledge about their ecological, economical and social benefits is scarce. In studies different definitions of secondary forests are used. However, in the light of development co-operation the decisive factor in defining secondary forests is that they are the result of anthropocenic disturbance and its underlying political, economical and social causes. Only by addressing these underlying causes may we succeed in managing secondary forests in a sustainable way. Secondary forests fulfil numerous functions but what make them different from other forests is the possibility to preserve and re-establish a large part of the original biodiversity and to relieve through sustainable secondary management the social pressure on the remaining primary forests. In the framework of development co-operation various already available political and technical instruments might be used to promote the development of sustainable secondary forest management.