Re: Optimal Population?

Dear Dr. Barendse:
Referring to your latest posting, I should like to comment on one point
only. You said:
"- over-population of the poor is here not the prime cause of the
destruction of the rainforest. The worst
period here were the 1980's when whole areas as large as US-states had been
given as concessions to multinational logging-companies and (although the
Brazilian state has meanwhile imposed a ban on the export of tropical wood)
illegal logging is still going on."

I happen to have lived in a part of Amazonia (the state of Rondonia) during
the 1980's and have been involved with the production of tropical woods in
Bolivia and Brazil for about 30 years. Valuable species such as Mahogany
are extremely rare (often less than 1 tree per ha) and even if a few other
species are being used and taking account of logging roads, the
environmental damage to the forest is negligible. Taking photos from the
air 3 or 4 years after logging operations end, the canopy has been
completely restored and one cannot distinguish such a forest form a virgin
one. 
That does not mean that loggers are angels; they hardly ever care about
SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT and  seldom provide for natural regeneration
of valuable species.

But as to the DESTRUCTION OF RAINFORESTS FIRE IS THE MAIN CULPRIT, because 
of:
1. misguided settlement projects, where settlers get title for their land
only after clearing it and
2. land grants to cattle ranchers or for the production of sugarcane for
alcohol.
Coming back to Rondonia, in my time planes could not land there for several
months during the dry season, because of the smoke of the burning forests. 

Should anyone care to discuss this subject in more detail, I should be glad
to give more information.

Greetings       Paul Riesz