Rainforests Have Been Declining Rapidly over the Last Few...

Rainforests have been declining rapidly over the last few decades. There are various factors responsible for this decline, resulting in serious impacts on the environment and the economy. Critically discuss the causes of deforestation and solutions to it. Deforestation is the cutting down of a large area of trees and the destruction of forests by people. Forests are what we call an exhaustible resource, one which can be used up if it is not used carefully. Over the last few decades, deforestation has threatened the rainforests with total extinction. To understand why deforestation is such an important issue, you first have to understand why trees matter. Trees improve in many ways the life of all species, including the human race.†¦show more content†¦In his concept, Adam Smith explains that in a free market no regulation of any type would be needed to ensure that the mutually beneficial exchange of goods and services can take place, since the †invisible hand† would guide market participants to trade in the most mutually beneficial manner. (www.investorwords.com) Many private agents, according to these studies, have no interest in maintaining the forest’s beauty and biodiversity, as services provided by forests are benefits that cannot be priced, so are not profit-making. Another factor precipitating deforestation appears to be poverty. Commonly held views argue that â€Å"high discount rates† received by poor countries are a cause of deforestation (The World Bank Forestry Policy 1991, Pearce and Watford 1993.). Because forests imply long gestation; private agents, particularly from the poorest countries, value what they can get immediately from forests more than what they can get in the future. But in 1999, Ekbom and Bojo challenged those views in a World Bank examination by showing that poverty does not necessarily lead to shorter time horizons and an increased rate of environmental degradation. They show how in fact the rural poor have used resources in a conservationist manner over a long period spanning centuries. Ostrom (1990), one of the various analysts they quoted, established a number of conditions that would lead to long term use of common resources despite their short-timeShow MoreRelatedMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engi neering96204 Words   |  385 Pagesstory’ that follows this summary gives you considerable detail about how to go about a case analysis, but for now here is a brief account. Before we start, a word about attitude – make it a real exercise. You have a set of historical facts; use a rigorous system to work out what strategies should be followed. All the cases are about real companies, and one of the entertaining bits of the analysis process is to compare what you have said they should do with what they really have done. So, it is best