Latin America: A on its forest and economics

This final paper in the Special Issue on Latin America summarizes the contributions of the 15 previous and more specialized papers under the themes of 1) defining characteristics of Latin American forestry and its comparison with forestry in other parts of the world, 2) policies that make a difference specifically for Latin America and 3) Latin America's developing forest industry. We observe, in particular, the region's position within Mather's wellknown Forest Transition and what this suggests for the future of Latin American forest development and for the important effect of aggregate economic development on forest use, for agriculture's role in deforestation and policies to control it, and for the need for more information about the forest industry and its impact on forestdependent human communities and on the forest itself. More or better information about each of these themes would lend confidence to our findings. More importantly, it would enable improved market and policy adjustments for the large changes that we anticipate both economic development and global climate change will bring to Latin America's forests and forest sector in the years ahead. Finally, we finish by noting the rapidly growing demands for non-consumptive uses of Latin America's forests and the importance of information about those as well.