ountries in the tropics, contributes about 20% of the greenhouse gas emissions that reach the earth’s atmosphere every year. Every year, about 13 million hectares of forest area are lost, and while this loss is partially compensated by 5.7 million hectares of new forest growth, annually 7.3 million hectares, or 20.000 hectares per day, of forests are still lost to other uses including agriculture.1 It has many diverse causes, including poverty and overpopulation, and often occurs over lands that do not have clear rights of tenure or ownership t