pt. 1. The ecological outlook: Ecological prospective for tropical Latin America / Gilberto C. Gallopín and Manuel Winograd. Rich and poor ecosystems of Amazonia : an approach to management / Emilio F. Moran. Archaeological perspectives on the potential of Amazonia for intensive exploitation / Betty J. Meggers. Distribution and interannual variability of rainfall in Brazil / Minoru Tanaka, Akio Tsuchiya, and Toshie Nishizawa -- pt. 2. The Brazilian Amazon: Waters and wetlands of Brazilian Amazonia : an uncertain future / Hilgard O'Reilly Sternberg. A fragile capitalism in a fragile environment : entrepreneurs and state bureaucracies in the free zone of Manaus / Roberto Motta -- pt. 3. The Peruvian Amazon: Aquatic and land fauna management among the floodplain ribereños of the Peruvian Amazon / Mario Hiraoka. Subsistence- and market-oriented agroforestry in the Peruvian Amazon / Christine Padoch and Wil de Jong. Local management of forest resources in a rural community in north-east Peru / Miguel Pinedo-Vasquez, Daniel Zarin and Peter Jipp -- pt. 4. The semi-arid North-East: White sand soils in North-East Brazil / Eiji Matsumoto. Changing aspects of drought-deciduous vegetation in the semi-arid region of North-East Brazil / Ichiroku Hayashi. Characteristics and utilization of tree species in the semi-arid woodland of North-East Brazil / Toshie Nishizawa, Akio Tsuchiya and Maria Magdalena Vieira Pinto. Drought, irrigation, and changes in the sertão of North-East Brazil / Isao Saito and Noritaka Yagasaki.