Selective Logging as a Compromise for Sustainable Forest Management

Tropical forests are under threat from increasing pressure by income-generating land uses. Selective logging presents a potential compromise between strict protection and full extractive use. It does not, however, have easily predictable ecological impacts due to timber removal limits and highly variable management protocols in logging concessions.

Ph.D. candidate Megan Sullivan discusses how selective logging is impacting forests in Gabon, a country in central Africa with one of the lowest deforestation rates in the world and very high forest cover. Selective logging has a massive footprint there but does not appear to be driving massive deforestation.

Could it be a strategy for maintaining overall forest cover without restricting economic development? We often hear stories of doom and gloom about environmental issues. In a "best case scenario" where sustainable management protocols (e.g., limits on timber removal, hunting regulations, etc.) are adopted, what does the forest look like after logging occurs?