The secondary forests of tropical America: prospects for their sustainable management

摘要

Failure to recognize the advantages of tropical secondary forests reflects certain generalized perceptions, namely: the forest does not produce commercial timber; the trees are very small or have no commercial value; their floristic features represent an obstacle to the development of modern industrial processes; natural regeneration of traditional timber species is often inadequate; the recuperation process of already degraded forest sites is quite expensive. These considerations, although established, overlook the tremendous potential of secondary forests as producers of goods and services. Taking this fact into account, this paper reviews the most relevant literature on the matter. Forest management, including the system adopted by Indians in Brazil, Colombia and Peru is described. The importance of people's participation (social forestry) in forest management is briefly discussed and some examples in Central America are illustrated. The need for a new ethic to properly manage tropical forestsis posited as an essential requisite. To achieve this goal, the following factors are necessary: absence of corruption, stable policies, open and transparent processes for resource allocation, dedicated forest personnel and accessible information. Lastly, attention is drawn to the following factors, which contribute to an optimistic view of a sustainable forest management scheme: resilience instead of fragility, available technology, use of global commitments and long-term and pertinent research.