There has been an increasing interest in reduced impact logging (RIL), particularly in tropical forests over the last decade. A number of developments have led to the concept of RIL: a political focus on sustainable development at the highest levels, a general consensus about the necessity to manage forests more sustainably, and a recognition that better technology is now available to monitor harvesting practices and forest conditions. There is a general desire to reduce negative environmental impacts all the way down to the operational level. It is also generally recognized that many conventional logging systems will not continue to produce sustainable yields of the same volume and/or quality of timber, particularly in non-coniferous tropical forests (NCTF). For these reasons governments are now imposing stricter regulations on forest harvesting and wood markets, and demanding more responsible harvesting practices. The demand for certified wood product has continued to grow. Given the political and market demand for change, there is a commensurate desire to further articulate the nature of RIL.
This objectives of the paper are to:
· Provide a definition and characteristics of RIL;
· Summarize a review of existing literature on logging intensities, residual stand and site damage, and wood waste associated with conventional logging (CL) and RIL;
· Present basic terminology related to logging methodologies;
· Provide a tabular summary of bibliographic material by country and source, and;
· Generate an annotated bibliography covering the existing literature on logging systems in NCTF.