Tropical forests and the greenhouse effect: a management response

The buildup of carbon dioxide in the global atmosphere represents one of the principal causes of the greenhouse effect that is overtaking the Earth's climate systems and that threatens salient sectors of economic development in both the developed and developing worlds. A management response appears to offer substantial scope to counter the buildup of carbon dioxide, even though it has been little addressed in systematic fashion. It is a massive tree-planting programme in the humid tropics. Tree plantations absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and the humid tropics with year-round warmth and moisture are by far the best place for fast-growing tree plantation. Reforestation on a suitable scale in the humid tropics - accompanied of course by measures to halt deforestation - could eventually serve to sequester carbon in amounts significant for our efforts to counter the greenhouse effect.