DEPRESSING reports about how quickly the world's tropical forests are being felled are commonplace. But depressing reports about the state of the trees that are still standing are much rarer. In fact, a new study from the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), an offshoot of the United Nations, claims to be the first exhaustive survey of tropical-forest management ever undertaken. Its findings, although grim, do contain a kernel of hope.
　　有关全球热带森林遭到乱砍滥伐、令人痛心的报道极为常见，但是痛陈现存林木状况的报道却少之又少。事实上，联合国分支机构——国际热带木材组织（ITTO）新近开展的一项研究，据称是首次对热带森林管理现状进行深入调查。其发现虽然令人沮丧，但从中我们还是看到了一线希望。

　　The ITTO examined “permanent forest estate”, meaning land that the governments of its 33 members have formally set aside for forests, and is therefore subject to some form of regulation or protection. The category includes both national parks and timber concessions, in both public and private hands. It covers 814m hectares, and accounts for roughly two-thirds of the world's tropical forests.

　　ITTO调查的对象是“永久性森林地产”，也就是被ITTO所属33个成员国政府正式划作森林地域，从而受到某种形式的管理或保护的土地。它涉及国家森林公园和木材的特许经营，包括国营和私营。地产总面积达8.14亿公顷，约占全球热带森林面积的三分之二。