Perceptions of forest use and the value of forests as standing timber vary considerably from indigenous peoples to national governments and Western scientists. These differences in attitudes and values lie at the root of conflicting management strategies and stimulate protest groups such as the Chipko movement. For example, the cultivators of the Himalayas and Karakoram view forests as essentially a convertible resource. That is, under increasing population pressure and growing demands for cultivable land, the conversion of forest into cultivated terraces means a much higher productivity can be extracted from the same area. Compensation in the form of planting on terrace edges occurs to make up for the clearance. This contrasts with the national view of the value of forests as a renewable resource, with the need or desire to keep a forest cover over the land for soil conservation, and with a global view of protection for biodiversity and climate change purposes, irrespective of the local people’s needs.
* timber: (목재가 되는) 수목 ** indigenous: 토착의