37 - Red flags of warning in land clearing

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Land clearance in the humid tropics needs to be considered very carefully. This chapter is an attempt to put the brakes on, or at least to insert a filter of conditions, so that any clearing does not have adverse, or only minimally adverse, effects on soil and water resources and processes. It follows on from the many precautionary statements, some even labelled ‘guidelines’ that have appeared since the early 1970s. As a matter of forest land policy, setting the framework for planning, there should be a thorough examination of alternatives to clearing more land. Poore and Sayer (1987) put it succinctly:

‘Before deciding to modify or transform untouched areas, every consideration should be given to alternatives. This may include adapting areas that have already been changed, to more productive uses, for example, using savannas for pine plantations. Alternatively, it may involve intensification of existing uses, or using areas for more than one purpose, if these are compatible.’

The high cost (in both ecological and economic terms) of any new land development dictates that the starting point in planning should be a detailed analysis of alternatives including possibilities of intensification on land already converted (Hansen and Dickensen, 1987). Similarly, there is an early need for an assessment of the capability and suitability of an area under planning scrutiny for the proposed use if alternatives are not available. Such an assessment, using well-developed procedures (e.g. Carpenter, 1981; FAO, 1974), if rigorously carried out may abort a proposed conversion.