Subsistence farming, unsustainable logging, unsound development of large-scale industrial projects, and national policies that distort markets and subsidize forest conversion to other uses are causing deforestation worldwide, from Cambodia to Colombia, from Cameroon to Western Canada and the Western United States. The loss of forests has major implications for the world. Forests are home to 70 percent of all land-living animals and plants. They replenish the earth's atmosphere and provide the planet with fresh air by storing carbon and producing oxygen. They help filter pollution out of the water and protect against flooding, mudslides and erosion.
Forests provide timber, medicines, food, and jobs.
The United States has an enormous stake in the sustainable management of the world's forests. We are a major forest products importer and exporter. Our growing pharmaceutical and food processing industries have a vested interest in protecting the source materials for new medicines, pharmaceuticals, and food additives. Forests and their ability to absorb carbon dioxide lower the rate of global climate change. President Clinton has committed to the goal of achieving sustainable management of our forests by the year 2000.