A strategy for preserving tropical forests

1 The problems of deforestation of the tropics and solutions which have been suggested are described. 2 An international programme is proposed which will preserve a sample of the remaining forests in a system of large tropical forest reserves. 3 This system will include 1000 reserves of approximately 100000 ha each, in forty-eight tropical nations. 4 To finance this system a fund is proposed based upon an assessment schedule for those developed nations with a per caput GNP in excess of $1500 year. 5 Funding would exceed the cost of merely protecting each reserve. In most cases it would be sufficient to contribute to other economic needs, such as intensification of agriculture in other areas so as to ease the pressure on the remaining forests to provide new agricultural land.