Financial Constraints to 'Sustainable' Selective Harvesting of Forests in theEastern Amazon: Bioeconomic Modeling of a Forest Stand in the State of Para, Brazil

摘要

A key issue in the debate over sustainable forest management is the trade-offbetween the short-term economic benefits of extracting timber aggressively for commercial sale and the long-term economic and ecological benefits of allowing natural forests to stand. The study presents a general methodology for assessing the feasibility of long-term forest management considering natural timber growth rates, mortality, and changes in timber prices and interest rates. Focusing on a 100-ha stand in the Paragominas region of the Eastern Amazon in the State of Para, Brazil, the study simulates the short-term costs and benefits of various levels of harvesting intensity on trees at various stages of growth, and compares the results with the potential returns on 30-day CDs invested over 25 years to determine the opportunity cost of holding mature stands of commercial trees between cutting cycles. Results show improved financial returns as a function of increasing harvest intensity due to the high discount rate in Brazil.