Book Chapter
Macroeconomic Policies and Deforestation

Macroeconomic policies have pervasive influences on the use and conservation of forest resources in developing countries, and these can be visualized in terms of a set of concentric circles. At the hub are policies directly affecting timber and forest management. These include forest revenue structures, institutions governing property rights (including traditional rights) related to forest land and produce. Policies affecting demand for forest products, such as trade and investment policies related to timber and energy prices are in the second circle. In the next circle are agricultural policies that affect the forces acting on the forest frontier and determining land conversion. In the fourth circle are the macroeconomic policies which at a first glance may appear not to have a role but in reality have powerful impacts. This chapter discusses the empirical aspects of this conceptual sketch of policy linkages using examples from Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, and Brazil.