The influence of the military on governmental policies in many countries is profound. For the military, the inaccessibility of forests is a strategic problem. Indigenous peoples and other isolated groups of society can pose a threat. Opening up the forest and stimulating migration of people from the centre of the country to these isolated areas serves a strategic purpose. Oil and mineral exploitation within the nation is strategically important, even when one has to attract foreign companies with conditions which allows all profits to flow out of the country.
Clear figures are absent and little research has been done.
The Non-Governmental Organizations which participate in the Forum have offered to work in collaboration with governments and international agencies to identify the major underlying causes of deforestation in all regions of the world and to work out solutions. Forests are not disappearing because people and their governments are ignorant or because there are no proper management plans. Forests are disappearing because a number of interlinked international and national policies prepare the ground for it to happen. It is therefore at that level that solutions must be found. In addition, it is crucial to reach out to the public at large in order to ensure that such changes are actually implemented in a way that both humanity as a whole and the people living in the forest areas benefit from them equally.