CONSERVATION:
Wildlife Harvest in Logged Tropical Forests
John G. Robinson, Kent H. Redford, Elizabeth L. Bennett
Commercial logging, by opening up remote tropical forest areas, stimulating a commercial trade, and bringing in people from other areas, has hugely increased the harvest of wildlife. This loss of wildlife threatens the ability of forest-dwelling people to feed themselves, the survival of harvested species, and the sustainability of tropical forestry itself. As commercial forestry has created the conditions for the increased wildlife harvest, regulatory mechanisms should focus on forestry operations. While progress has been slight to date, there is some openness within the industry to the idea of sustaining all elements of the rain forest ecosystem, including wildlife, when forests are logged.
J. G. Robinson and K. H. Redford are at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, NY 10460, USA. E. L. Bennett is at WCS Sarawak, 7 Jalan Ridgeway, Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. E-mail: wildcons{at}aol.com
