Tropical forest pricing policies and rent collection in South East Asia

Throughout South East Asia, with few exceptions, forest fees are low, undervalue tropical timber and forests, are difficult to enforce and collect, and generate inadequate revenues for management of the forests. Low forest fees that under‐value the timber provide little incentive for efficient utilization of the timber or conservation of the forests. The paper examines forest pricing policies for tropical timber and forest concessions in South East Asia. It argues that proper pricing of tropical forests, including royalties on timber and fees on forest concessions can reflect the economic values of the timber and concessions, collect an appropriate share of the economic rent on both timber and concessions, provide economic incentives for more efficient utilization and sustainable management of tropical forests, and provide the revenues to finance forest management and conservation. The paper proposes alternatives and suggests improvements in forest pricing policies to strengthen forest revenue systems and support sustainable management of tropical forests.