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Abstract
Deforestation continues at a significant rate, especially
in developing tropical countries. The process
is a consequence of pressures to realise the commercial
value of the timber and/or the land, the latter
typically for either agriculture or settlement.
Forests are integral to a variety of increasingly
valuable environmental systems — carbon, water
and biodiversity. Measures such as stopping illegal
logging, and labelling logs from sustainablymanaged
forests, are important palliatives. However,
the real need is to develop price signals that
reflect the substantial value of environmental services,
and to integrate these into the international
commodity economy.