Forest Transition Thesis Essay ⋆ Environment Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

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The forest transition thesis suggests that as countries undergo a process of social and economic development, forest cover follows a u-shaped curve. At first, deforestation is rapid; but as the country develops, deforestation slows and finally reverses. The theory is of great interest because it suggests that one way out of the current biodiversity crisis of deforestation-which is often blamed on economic development-is to encourage more economic development. Since growing forests take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, the theory is also of interest in debates about the role of forest recovery in national carbon budgets and global warming policy.

The forest transition thesis was developed to explain historical forest cover trends in developed countries like the United States, Portugal, Denmark, Japan, and South Korea. In the United States, for example, the northeast and southeast are much more forested now than they were 100 years ago. Working with contemporary cross-national datasets, some analysts also find associations between development indicators and forest recovery rates; more developed countries have lower deforestation rates.

The theory holds that modernization brought about increased agricultural productivity, while industrialization brought improved urban labor opportunities; together, these changes transformed rural landscapes. Already-deforested regions with large expanses of arable and irrigable lands responded to mechanization and chemical inputs. In areas where topography, soils, and water constraints limited the application of new agricultural technologies, however, farming became increasingly marginal, especially as productivity gains in prime agricultural areas drove down prices and decreased the competitiveness of small-scale agriculture in the marginal areas. Meanwhile, industries and employment concentrated in the cities. As a result, rural households in marginal areas abandoned their small farms and sought a better life in the city. Forests regenerated on abandoned fields, and national forest cover increased.

The forest transition thesis also holds that modernization changed the ways forests were valued, such that forest mining was replaced with sustainable forest management and protection. Possible catalysts for this change included the substitution of fossil fuels and alternative energy for firewood, changes in attitude about the recreational and conservation values of forests, and improved forest management technologies. The most important mechanisms, however, were probably related to institutional change. As wood and forested lands became scarce, their value to society also increased. Governments passed laws, established protected forest areas, and funded forest protection bureaucracies, and landowners also began to plant trees and protect woodlands.

Underdeveloped vs. Developed

A central issue for forest transition theory in the current context of tropical deforestation and biodiversity loss, however, is whether forest transitions observed in developed countries reflect the situation in developing countries. With its emphasis on a seemingly unilinear, homogenous, and poorly defined process called “development,” the forest transition thesis assumes that the future of “underdeveloped” countries will emulate the history of “developed” ones.

Several researchers argue that if there are tropical forest transitions in developing countries now, they will be significantly different from those observed in developed countries. They notice significant differences in current urbanization and industrialization patterns from those that took place historically, and place those changes in a context of globalization and an international political economy of agriculture that is also very different. The increasing internationalization of agriculture, for example, discourages small farmers from local markets. Meanwhile, migration patterns sometimes permit the maintenance of rural populations through remittances. Although opportunities for forest recovery and conservation probably exist in areas where current technology and international agricultural policy make farming marginal, these opportunities must be sought in the context of national and local institutional changes; they do not derive automatically from a process of national economic development.

Bibliography:

Alan Grainger, “The Forest Transition: An Alternative Approach,” Area (v.27, 1995);
Klooster, “Regional Forest Transitions in Highland Mexico? The Importance of Local Institutions in a Globalized Countryside,” Professional Geographer (v.55, 2003);
Thomas Rudel, Diane Bates, and Rafael Machinguiashi, “A Tropical Forest Transition? Agricultural Change, Out-Migration, and Secondary Forests in the Ecuadorian Amazon,” Annals of the Association of American Geographers (v.92, 2002).