Much of the land in the developing world is mismanaged, underutilized, or unused. The forests of the tropical zones, in which the bulk of the developing countries is situated, are overexploited in some regions, underexploited in others, and unmanaged in almost all. Although trees are the dominant vegetation on more than half of the tropical land area, forest products contribute little to the social and economic welfare of the people who should be considered fortunate to possess these resources. On the contrary, the practices that are now being followed in many areas rapidly destroy the forest and land resource base on which the livelihood of a considerable proportion of the world's population depends. The situation is not much different in other types of ecosystem. In Africa, seventy-two per cent of the land surface is permanent pasture or waste. Yet, on these lands there seems to be an almost inevitable process of further ecological degradation, which, if continued, would prevent them from contributing significantly to the economic development of that continent.
Publication year
1978
Authors
Language
English
Keywords
agroforestry, developing countries, land use, research, tropical zones
