Small farmers and indigenous tribe members have for centuries used the slash and burn method of farming in small patches of forest, moving after only a few crops have been harvested. This practice was sustainable because the land could renew itself when left uncultivated for a period of time. Today the process has accelerated. More people have moved into larger areas of the forest. Logging roads have made it possible to penetrate forest that was not accessible before. The trees cannot return because the land is left idle for shorter periods and the plots cleared are much more extensive.
The primary concern of the peasant farmer is to provide food and shelter for his family. In many parts of the tropics, landless peasants are being directed into rapidly dwindling forest areas by government resettlement programs. For example, Indonesia has for the past several years relocated millions of peasants from the overcrowded island of Java to the virgin wilderness of Irian Jaya (western half of New Guinea) and other outer islands. This government undertaking is leading to the destruction of Irian Jaya's natural habitat, and the decimation of aboriginal tribes through dislocation from tribal lands and from plagues of disease introduced into the area.
