1 tab. 11 ref. Sum. (En, Pt)

Uncontrolled explotation of tropical forests is unnecessarily destructive of the environment. Prior to exploitation the forest may produce good timber, productive soil, and attractive scenery. Afterward the forest at best no longer produces useful timber. At worst the trees are gone and the soil is not only incapable of producing any crop but its erosion damages other lands downstream. To utilize fully tropical forests and yet to sustain their usefulness it is necessary to inventory all of their resources, determine and respect the use limits they can sustain, and so integrate the uses as to protect those most vulnerable to conflict and provide maximum sustainable benefits. Multiple-use management cannot be perfected without continuing research. Its virtues must be demonstrated, and logically by foresters, if they are to be generally accepted and supported. Timber production areas must be diagnosed to determine the adequacy and silvicultural needs of advance regeneration. If adequate it may be managed with almost no disturbance of the soil. If inadequate it must be replaced with a new crop, a practice which may also be protective of soil values. Good management of the best timber sites not needed for other purposes could produce yields adequate to supply not only the foreseeable timber requirements of the tropics but also a substantial contribution toward those of the temperate zone as well.