In 1972, The Limits to Growth introduced the idea that world resources are limited. Soon after, people became aware of the threats to the world`s rainforests, the biggest terrestrial repositories of biodiversity & essential regulators of global air & water cycles. Since that time, new research & technological advances have greatly increased our knowledge of how rainforests are being affected by changing patterns of resource use. Increasing concern about climate change has made it more important than ever to understand the state of the world`s tropical forests. This book provides an up-to-date picture of the health of the world`s tropical forests. Claude Martin, an eminent scientist & conservationist, integrates information from remote imaging, ecology, & economics to explain deforestation & forest health throughout the world. He explains how urbanization, an increasingly global economy, & a worldwide demand for biofuels put new pressure on rainforest l&. He examines the policies & market forces that have successfully preserved forests in some areas & discusses the economic benefits of protected areas. Using evidence from ice core records & past forest cover patterns, he predicts the most likely effects of climate change.