Introduction to Illegal Logging in the Tropics

On March 29-30, 2002, the Yale Chapter of the International Society of Tropical Foresters convened social and natural scientists, resource managers, policy-makers, community leaders and other interested parties to share experiences, strategies, successes and failures in addressing illegal logging and corruption. The conference explored the framing of the illegal logging problem, the extent of the problem, its perceived causes, and potential solutions. Thirteen papers were presented at the conference entitled Illegal Logging in the Tropics: The Ecology, Economics and Policy or Resource Misuse held at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies on March 29-30, 2002. This introduction presents a brief overview of the illegal logging issue and describes the papers presented in this volume.