Deforestation is a global issue, which makes it a more difficult problem to address than if it were strictly a domestic one or even if it were occurring only in one region of the world. However, deforestation not only takes place in different regions of the world, but it also affects everyone, with the potential for worldwide ecological devastation. The size of the problem has been accelerating in recent years. Many of the developed nations of the world have decimated their own forests, and though they are today involved in attempts at preserving vast tracts of the forest they have left, they have already contributed to the problem by the destruction wrought during their formative period. This makes it all the more difficult for them to complain when developing nations are faced with the issue of preservation versus jobs and a viable economy, which is usually the way the issue unfolds.
Still, governments of both developed and developing nations have a stake in the long-term survival of forests, notably the rainforests of tropical regions, and governmental action at both levels is necessary. In addition, corporations have a role in that they usually benefit from and may even drive the economic development that can include environmental destruction. Some companies indeed operate with less environmental conscience when they are operating outside their own borders than they ever would at home, where they are also often constricted by laws. This is certainly true of U.S.-based companies which may seek areas for foreign investment specifically to reduce their costs, including costs associated with environmentally sound controls. Both governments and corporations will benefit from efforts to protect the world's forests, and both need to take responsibility for seeing to it that the ecology of the world is protected.
The local people living in and around the rainforests need an economic reason not to destroy the resources of ...