POLARIZATION OF BIOTIC AND ECONOMIC WEALTH - THE WORLD, THE TROPICS, AND BRAZIL

Economic wealth is concentrated in a few countries in the temperate re gion. Biotic wealth, as expressed in the diversity of plant and animal species, is concentrated in a few tropical countries. The polarizatio n of economic and biological wealth creates disparate realities and as pirations for those concerned in developed countries about conservatio n and for the vast majority of people in tropical countries. Capital i s scarce in the tropics, and tropical countries, such as Brazil, explo it their lands using techniques that consume natural rather than finan cial capital. In Brazil this exploitation assumes great proportions, s ustained politically by the combination of a large market economy, int ernal polarization of income distribution, and international commercia l and financial difficulties. The preservation of tropical forests and their functions represent the immobilization of a production factor i n the tropical countries. Such immobilization is not among the priorit ies of tropical populations, in spite of its growing popularity among richer countries. Recognition of these differences in priority is an e ssential first step; the second is to define mechanisms in which the a spirations of those wealthy economically and those wealthy biologicall y can be harmonized.