Review by Choice Review
Anderson, for 15 years an ecologist in the Brazilian Amazon Basin, and an officer of the Ford Foundation, has assembled papers given at an international conference in Belem, Brazil. The authors, all competent in their fields, critically examine Amazon rain forest deforestation, past management practices, absence of tolerant forest management, methods for improvement, and use of cleared land for cattle ranching, a total of 20 1/2 million acres in the past. Alternatives are suggested for improved, sustained use of this socioeconomically poor area with low productivity and stability. Suggestions include an increased supply of extractive resources such as rubber, pepper, cocoa, medicines, fruits, nuts, and edible seeds in order to relieve low productivity. Other alternatives might be to regenerate forests on abandoned, degraded pastures and to find sustainable uses. Also useful would be the making of a socioeconomic as well as a political analysis of the problems. A short helpful abstract precedes each essay. Numerous references; complete index; good-quality illustrations and graphs. Undergraduates and up. -C. E. Cheston, University of the South
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
