Ecosystem rehabilitation and forest regeneration in the humid tropics: Case studies and management insights

The highest rates of land use change in the world are found in the tropics. For the period 1981–1990, some 17 million hectares of forest have been converted to other uses each year, of which about half are found in the moist tropical zone. By the year 2050, half of the surface covered by tropical forests in 1990 may have been converted. In the years ahead, a greater proportion of tropical lands may be expected to support secondary forest, degraded zones and other human-impacted areas.