Forest Rehabilitation and Its Implication for Forest Transition Theory

Forest transition theory bases its predictions of forest recovery in temperate regions primarily on macro-economic factors. In tropical countries, it is important to understand additional complex processes underlying forest recovery. Forest rehabilitation—meaning efforts to restore tree cover—is an important contributor to forest recovery in many tropical regions. Forest rehabilitation itself is subject to multiple factors that influence its scale, effectiveness and outcomes. This paper reviews forest rehabilitation in six countries—Brazil, China, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines and Vietnam. The cases reviewed suggest that globally, forest rehabilitation efforts can be understood in four time periods, or eras, each with distinct approaches to forest rehabilitation and outcomes. Various factors that influence forest rehabilitation outcomes evolved during these eras. Current outcomes of forest rehabilitation can only be adequately predicted if the historical processes influencing forest rehabilitation are understood. The paper suggests that forest transition in the tropics needs to be analyzed not only in terms of macro-economic factors, but also in terms of the factors that influence forest rehabilitation outcomes as well as other processes that affect forest cover increase.