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Deforestation is frequently a topic of discussion in the environmental arena. But it is not just the number of trees that matters; the quality of the forest is also important. Even where the forest area is stable or increasing, there are often rapid changes in its character. Natural forests are being replaced by plantations or by intensively managed forests. Around the world, forests are becoming younger and less diverse, in both species and structure; this has important impacts for biodiversity and also affects many human values.

In this groundbreaking book, forest quality is discussed as a useful new concept in forest conservation and management. Three main assessment criteria are used: authenticity, environmental benefits, and social and economic benefits. A methodology and protocol for collecting and analyzing data is described, and the approach needed with each indicator is outlined in detail. The authors advocate a landscape approach to assessment, as meeting conservation goals also means addressing human needs, and balancing the trade-offs involved is only possible at a landscape scale. A series of case studies demonstrates assessment throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, showing how this new method can be used in many ways to help forest conservation management. ... Read more

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The fourth title in this series contains information about the management of existing woodland and hedgerows. It also examines the planting of new areas for multiple land use, nature conservation, amenity value, sport or recreation. One section looks at associated crafts. ... Read more

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The depletion of the tropical rain forests has attracted considerable attention in recent times, and the serious consequences for the global biosphere are widely acknowledged. Yet deforestation continues apace, and in some areas (for example, southeast Asia) the very existence of the forests is seriously threatened. Contrary to popular belief, evidence suggests that local economic and living conditions are more significant in this than timber exploitation for exports to the Northern countries.

Tropical Deforestation: A Socio-Economic Approach offers a new perspective on the economic imperatives which encourage indigenous populations to encroach upon their own forests, and shows how action against deforestation must form part of a wider movement to improve both the living conditions of the local inhabitants and the durability of their national economies.

Part One offers an overview of the processes surrounding deforestation, and an assessment of the current situation. Part Two analyses the land-use issues, and explains the socioeconomic imperatives in the affected regions. In an absorbing conclusion. Part Three guides the reader through a series of hypothetical policy scenarios, using a specially adapted economic computer model, to predict which combinations of policies and trade arrangements might bring about a more beneficial state of affairs. ... Read more

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Winner of the International Studies Association's Harold and Margaret Sprout Award 2008 for the best book on international environmental problems.

In this timely book, David Humphreys, author of Forest Politics, extends his analysis of the main political developments in forest governance over the last decade including recent 2005 and 2006 negotiations at the UN. Humphreys shows how the unwillingness of many governments and businesses to grapple with the causes of deforestation has rendered the UN largely ineffective in protecting the public goods value of forests. As a result the crisis of deforestation has deepened. He tracks all the main intergovernmental forest processes and follows the creation of novel mechanisms to address forest certification and illegal logging, but argues that they alone cannot solve the problem. He concludes by suggesting some policy innovations to address one of the most pressing environmental problems of our age.
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Clawson is concerned here not so much with what forest policy should be, but more with the criteria by which it should be determined. He lists such questions as how much land to devote to forests, how much timber to harvest and the best means of harvesting it, and the compatibility or incompatibility of forest uses as the issues to be dealt with in formulating forest policy. ... Read more

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Much of the world's tropical timber is still supplied from natural forest, but under current systems of management the forests are rapidly becoming exhausted. Unless management practices change to become genuinely sustainable, neither the forests nor the essential contribution of the timber industry to many economies will survive.

Duncan Poore reviews the extent to which natural forests are already being sustainably managed for timber production, and looks at how these practices can be enlarged. He places management for timber in the wider context of tropical forest conservation and outlines a strategy for further action. Thoroughly researched and accessibly written, this book will be useful for everyone working or interested in the subject of tropical forests. ... Read more

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The dry forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa are major ecosystems, with a broad range of strong economic and cultural incentives for keeping them intact. However, few people are aware of their importance, compared to tropical rainforests, despite them being home to more than half of the continent's population.

This unique book brings together scientific knowledge on this topic from East, West, and Southern Africa and describes the relationships between forests, woodlands, people and their livelihoods. Dry forest is defined as vegetation dominated by woody plants, primarily trees, the canopy of which covers more than 10% of the ground surface, occurring in climates with a dry season of three months or more. This broad definition–wider than those used by many authors–incorporates vegetation types commonly termed woodland, shrubland, thicket, savanna, wooded grassland, as well as dry forest in its strict sense.

The book provides a comparative analysis of management experiences from the different geographic regions, emphasizing the need to balance the utilization of dry forests and woodland products between current and future human needs. Further, the book explores the techniques and strategies that can be deployed to improve the management of African dry forests and woodlands for the benefit of all, but more importantly, the communities that live off these vegetation formations. Thus, the book lays a foundation for improving the management of dry forests and woodlands for the wide range of products and services they provide. ... Read more

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This book provides a novel approach to governance relating to biodiversity and human well-being in complex tropical landscapes, including forests and protected areas. It focuses attention at the interface between communities and the landscape level, building on interdisciplinary research conducted in five countries (Cameroon, Indonesia, Laos, Madagascar and Tanzania). In each country, the research was set within the framework of a major national policy thrust.

The book improves our understanding of and ability to manage complex landscapes---mosaics of differing land uses---in a more adaptive and collaborative way that benefits both the environment and local communities. It includes both single country and cross-site analyses, and focuses on themes, such as resettlement, land use planning, non-timber forest product use and management, the disconnect between customary and formal legal systems, and the role of larger scale policies in local level realities. Chapters also analyze experience with monitoring and a local governance assessment tool. The work also provides guidance for those interested in management and governance at lower and intermediate levels (village, district), scales likely to grow in importance in the global effort to mitigate and adapt to climate change. ... Read more

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Forest biodiversity monitoring programs, by evaluating the performance of existing management regimes and helping to identify opportunities for improved practice, represent an essential ingredient in the development of more sustainable management systems. Nevertheless many costly monitoring efforts are often little more than "tick the box" exercises that do little more than erode the credibility of science. The purpose of this book is to identify the key elements of a robust and pragmatic framework for how monitoring and evaluation programs can make a more meaningful contribution to the development of an ecologically sustainable system of forest use. To be meaningful monitoring programs need to be purposeful and grounded in clear objectives, effective in providing reliable assessments of the links between management activities and changes in forest biodiversity, and realistic in light of real-world financial, logistical and social constraints. Science can make a substantial contribution to achieving these aims but a key component of success lies in overcoming the organizational insularity that currently exists between researchers, managers and bureaucrats.

The first part of the book lays out the importance of biodiversity monitoring in achieving responsible management, and sheds light on the key obstacles and challenges that have thus far confounded attempts to integrate meaningful monitoring programs into forest management systems. The second part presents an operational framework for developing improved forest biodiversity monitoring systems. These proposals address the challenges central to the scoping, design and implementation stages of a forest biodiversity monitoring program, including the definition of program goals and objectives, the indicator selection process, and data collection, analysis and interpretation. The book is not intended to provide a "how-to manual" of technical issues but rather to encourage a broader appreciation of the purpose and overall design of an effective monitoring program, with a particular emphasis on designing monitoring programs that are successful in the context of real-world challenges and constraints. The book ends with a section on integrating biodiversity information into the bigger picture and how to frame and evaluate trade-offs in multiple use forests.
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* *The first practical hands-on guide to repairing the damage done by irresponsible forest activity, explaining how to increase the resilience of landscapes and the communities they support

* *Pools expert knowledge from world authorities in the field, using research backed by respected institutions such as International Tropical Timber Organization and the World Conservation Union

This book--authored and collected by leading international authorities in the field of forestry--is the first comprehensive, practical treatment of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR). As an approach to conservation, FLR provides a complementary framework to sustainable forest management and the ecosystem approach in landscapes in cases where forest loss has caused a decline in the quality of ecosystem services. The main aim of FLR is not to re-establish pristine forest, even if this were possible, rather the objective is to strengthen the resilience of landscapes and thereby keep future management options open. It also aims to support communities as they strive to increase and sustain the benefits they derive from the management of land. The result here is an indispensable, easy-to-read handbook for practitioners in all aspects of forestry and natural resource management.

Contributors: Cesar Sabogal, David Lamb, Don Gilmour, James Gasana, Jennifer Rietbergen-McCracken, Sandeep Sengupta, Stewart Maginnis, Trikurnianti Kusumanto, Wil de Jong, William Jackson ... Read more

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Who has rights to forests and forest resources?

In recent years governments in the South have transferred at least 200 million hectares of forests to communities living in and around them. This book assesses the experience of what appears to be a new international trend that has substantially increased the share of the world's forests under community administration. Based on research in over 30 communities in selected countries in Asia (India, Nepal, Philippines, Laos, Indonesia), Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana) and Latin America (Bolivia, Brazil, Guatemala, Nicaragua), it examines the process and outcomes of granting new rights, assessing a variety of governance issues in implementation, access to forest products and markets and outcomes for people and forests.

Forest tenure reforms have been highly varied, ranging from the titling of indigenous territories to the granting of small land areas for forest regeneration or the right to a share in timber revenues. While in many cases these rights have been significant, new statutory rights do not automatically result in rights in practice, and a variety of institutional weaknesses and policy distortions have limited the impacts of change. Through the comparison of selected cases, the chapters explore the nature of forest reform, the extent and meaning of rights transferred or recognized, and the role of authority and citizens' networks in forest governance. They also assess opportunities and obstacles associated with government regulations and markets for forest products and the effects across the cases on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A choice and solidly recommended pick for anyone intrigued by the forest debate
Forests are nature, and nature belongs to everyone. "Forests for People: Community Rights and Forest Tenure Reform" discusses forests and their place in the legal debate, delving into the debate between private and public land and how the land of the forests has been managed. Forests are not only nature habitats, but resources, which has increased the debate further. "Forests for People" is a choice and solidly recommended pick for anyone intrigued by the forest debate. ... Read more

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Many countries around the world are engaged in decentralization processes, and most African countries face serious problems with forest governance, from benefits sharing to illegality and sustainable forest management. This book summarizes experiences to date on the extent and nature of decentralization and its outcomes, most of which suggest an underperformance of governance reforms, and explores the viability of different governance instruments in the context of weak governance and expanding commercial pressures over forests.Findings are grouped into two thematic areas: decentralization, livelihoods and sustainable forest management; and international trade, finance and forest sector governance reforms. The authors examine diverse forces shaping the forest sector, including the theory and practice of decentralization, usurpation of authority, corruption and illegality, inequitable patterns of benefits capture and expansion of international trade in timber and carbon credits, and discuss related outcomes on livelihoods, forest condition and equity. The book builds on earlier volumes exploring different dimensions of decentralization and perspectives from other world regions, and distills dimensions of forest governance that are both unique to Africa and representative of broader global patterns. Authors ground their analysis in relevant theory while attempting to distill implications of their findings for policy and practice. ... Read more

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US Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, And Forestry Committee Handbook ... Read more

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Examines the devastating effects of forest fires and the various techniques used to combat and prevent them. ... Read more

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Introduces the often dangerous jobs of smokejumping and fighting forest fires. ... Read more