Is a living rainforest of greater economic value than one that has been cut down?
The international marketing of foods, cosmetics, and crafts derived from tropical forests may provide native
inhabitants with the economic means to protect their vanishing lands. Rainforests:
Proving Their Worth explores
this promising movement to market sustainably collected forest products.
Several hopeful developments are presented:
new groves of peach palms in Costa Rica, bustling markets on the
Amazon, and environmentally conscious American companies successfully
using renewable forest products.
But obstacles remain: Brazil nut
collectors aren't getting fair prices, and the trees that once
sustained them are being burned for charcoal. Some forest inhabitants
are concerned that outsiders will bring unwelcome change to
traditional ways. Rainforests: Proving Their
Worth provides a provocative
look at a crucial effort to save the rainforests.
