A Burning Issue: Tropical Forests and the Health of Global Ecosystems

Abstract

Tropical forests are in the front line of efforts to tackle climate change. This article provides an overview of the ecosystem services that tropical forests provide, the way in which rates of deforestation have changed over the past 20 years, and the economic drivers of tropical deforestation around the world. It describes recent intergovernmental efforts to reduce deforestation, both through a proposed UNFCCC REDD+ mechanism and through interim finance or ‘Fast Start’ partnerships that seek to achieve results between now and 2020. There has never been a better opportunity to forge international cooperation on this important environmental issue, but progress so far has been slow.