Food demand eating into tropical forests, report says | Reuters
(Reuters) - Slowing deforestation and greater awareness of the value of standing trees may come too late to save the world's biggest rainforests, according to a global assessment of tropical forests published Tuesday.
Tropical forests are threatened by pressures to clear land to produce food and biofuels and to plant fast-growing trees for timber, wood fuel and paper.
Awareness was growing in tropical countries of consumer demands, especially in western countries, for wood harvested sustainably, but perhaps not fast enough to counter growing world demand for food, said Duncan Poore, co-author of the report and former head of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).
"There's been an extraordinary change of attitude and culture. They may not be practicing it, or able to because of a lack of funds, but they know it's there," said Poore.
The REDD plus scheme of the climate negotiations is vitally needed, as is the global awareness of our need to change consumption patterns for the most land intensive food and fuel production. Currently there appears to be little progress regarding REDD+ in negotiations. Progress in Durban will be critical.


