Can the Value of Ecosystem Services Pay for the Conservation of the World’s Remaining Tropical Rainforests?

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.