Product Description
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

Product Description
A tiny rufous-tailed hummingbird hovers before the bright inflorescence of a heliconia. Undetected by the foraging bird a golden eyelash viper is curled motionless around the plant. An instant later, this subtle configuration of flora and fauna is shattered by the snake's sudden strike.

Portraits of the Rainforest explores the precarious contingencies that determine the nature of tropical life, and award-winning Adrian Forsyth approaches his subject with a "mixture of hope and trepidation." A biologist who has spent 20 years working in the rainforest, Forsyth has observed firsthand the ravaging effects of agricultural, economic and environmental policies on an ecosystem under siege.

Yet in this collection of essays, he has chosen to celebrate the rainforest rather than to lament its loss. The rainforest plays a variety of roles -- as a genetic reservoir, a pharmacy of natural products and a carbon dioxide exchange system -- but for Forsyth, its true value rests with something less functional. The rainforest, he argues, represents the pinnacle of biological diversity and evolutionary sophistication on this planet.

Forsyth draws on his own extensive experience in the rainforest to make this fascinating habitat tangible for his readers. The result is a creative, anecdotal text that in each chapter follows a thread of adaptive Darwinian logic through some part of the rainforest. The exquisite photography of Michael and Patricia Fogden helps to make Portraits of the Rainforest an unforgettable journey. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Beautiful and Informative
I was very fortunate to find a used copy from the library. The pictures are not only remarkable but the information included make it very valuable. The truth hurts and there is plenty of facts in here about how we as a people are destroying our Earth. If this book moves one person to care about the effects of their actions.. then maybe it's served its purpose.

Awesome book, great for kids, perfect for schools!
This is an awesome pictorial with great editorial book that is awesome to read or simply thumb through to view some of the most beautiful rainforest's the world has to offer. Perfect for schools, to show kids who may have never been to or seen a rainforest what they are & why we need to protect them.

Very young children will understand when explained the importance all rainforest's have for human survival, not to mention the survival of unique flora & fauna.

This book would be helpful to science classes of all ages and teachers should have no problem creating study guides and exercisesfrom it.

Do not get me wrong, this book is perfect for adults too, makes a fantastic coffee table book for your guests to flip through. And would look striking on the coffee table of any home!

I do not think anyone who purchases this would be disappointed. It is such a lovely book and simply gorgeous to view!

Monteverde residents bring rain forest to life
The author and photographers are part time residents of the Monteverde area of Costa Rica. Many of the photos in this book also are displayed at the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, near Santa Elena, in Central CostaRica. Anyone who has been to a Central or South American rain forest orcloud forest will enjoy the ecological explanations -- similar to brieferexplanations by guia naturalistas (guides) in the reserves -- and willespecially enjoy the dramatic photos. Those who haven't visited the forestin person may be motivated to do so. ... Read more

Product Description
An insight into the rainforests and their inhabitants who make their homes in the most beautiful and most endangered environment on earth, this text bears witness to the fragility of the rainforests as they struggle to survive in the 21st century. Tropical rainforests are found in Central and South America, Africa and Southeast Asia, and are home to half of the world's living species. The text is divided into four sections - "Water", "Fire", "Earth" and "Air" - exploring the different ecological workings of the rainforests and telling of the need to give spiritual value to the processes of caring for the natural world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Photographing Innovation Art
Photographing Innovation Art is considered one the wonderful natural worldbooks. In this book, Art Wolf mirrors the virgin reforents area in elegantmanner. Art Wolf knows quite well when and where to boast these rareplaces, animals, and plants that live in. His representation style isunequal to any other works, particularly in clear views, which express thetheme he wants to convey in detailed natural views. It looks like hand madeartistic works. Art Wolf has high skills and capabilities in viewsproduction. His views are wonderful and have natural beauty, which makesyou feel, taste, and sees natural elegance and expressive views as we haveseen in his previous works. The text and photo are complementary to eachother. Both seek to achieve one goal- to save the area from surroundingdanger as depicted in Wolfs work. Generally it is a wonderful book indeedby art Wolf. It makes us astonished by its expressive and moving pictures.He allows us see the photos from any angles to get different impression.This book is recommended for those who love unique natural world and highstandards photos

Beautiful Book and wonderful photography
A book that is spectacular to look through and educational in content. A Christmas gift that was truly special. ... Read more

Product Description
Pack up baby for a wildlife adventure in the ooey-gooey, steamy, sticky rain-forest with this delightful touch-and-feel book. Engaging illustrations, stunning real-life photos and repetitive text are used to introduce children to the incredible world of animals and plants that inhabit the rain-forest.Unique and fun touch and feel elements are included to invite children to explore the amazing world of the rain-forest with their fingers. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Great Book for animal lovers
My sons both love Baby Einstein. My 3 1/2 year old is obsessed with any and all Baby Einstein movies and items. Having the books just adds a bonus to all of the fun. Because of Baby Einstein he has learned every single animal in every video and he knows the sounds they make too. Now my 16 month old likes to point to all the animals and have you tell them what they are and what they say. He will know them all in no time just like his brother. The pictures are always so pretty and clear. Fantastic book!

Failed to please
I LOVE Baby Einstein and I have been extremely happy with almost all of the DVD's, Books, CD's and Discovery Cards but this book was incredibly disappointing.The text is impossible to read smoothly.It's very choppy as if someone missed their deadline and wrote it 5 minutes before it went to print.My daughter LOVES books and being raised on Baby Einstein, she definitely has a special fondness for their characters but she has no interest in this book. The photos are vibrant and that I like a lot but it just wasn't worth buying.On the other hand, I highly recommend the Baby McDonald board book and Violet's House.Both have been memorized by our entire family and my daughter will sit still and read them over and over again.

One of the worst books ever slapped together at the last minute
It's pretty obvious the designer and the writer didn't talk to each other before this book went into production. Read about two eggs, see three eggs. Read about spiders, which are suddenly insects. Read about a frog, see some red plant that my baby loves to touch---too bad I can't tell him what it is, because the copy never mentions it. Honestly, I find this book simply horrible. I refuse to read the idiotic copy aloud anyway---"ooey gooey," my eye. And what is the deal with that Jane character....some bowlegged monkey girl who explores this ridiculous rainforest (not rain-forest, thank you very much). I hate her, and I hate the book! Boooo!

Glad I didn't spend MY money on it...
My son received this book as a gift for his first birthday.I thought he'd like the touch and feel aspect, but it doesn't hold his interest, which is fine by me because I cringe every time I read it.

"Rainforest" is not a hyphenated word.

Every page beings "In the ooey gooey rain forest..."Ooey gooey??Do we want our kids to think rainforests are gross?

The page on amphibians mentions a tree frog with suction pad toes, but none are pictured.

The page about birds talks about the hummingbird's two eggs, but three eggs are pictured.

The "insect" page talks about spiders.

Rainforest animals that would never be found together in the wild because they are from completely different parts of the world are pictured peacefully coexisting.

This is the only Baby Einstein book we own, and I sure hope the others are way better than this one.Love their CDs, but this book is horrible.

Great book!
I bought this because I was very impressed with Baby Einstein's Baby McDonald on the Farm big board book.Rainforest Discoveries has just as many bright colors to stimulate my boys' attention. I would recommend it. ... Read more

Product Description
The rainforest is the richest wildlife habitat on earth, and "World of Wonder: Rainforest Animals" is an excellent introduction to the many fascinating creatures to be found there. In question-and-answer format, it addresses the questions that children are likely to ask: what does a jaguar eat? Can frogs live in trees? Do people live in rainforests? And, most importantly, will there always be rainforests? Marvellously detailed illustrations by Carolyn Scrace show creatures small and large, and give an idea of how they fit into this unique environment. Two spreads have been designed with an acetate overlay to show internal structures. There is a 'true or false' quiz that runs through the book, with answers given at the end, to make it truly interactive. The glossary and index encourage children to use the book as an educational resource. ... Read more

Product Description
Stephen Law's dream job had him working in the nation's best environment--its forests. Raised on a farm in rural Maine, Stephen became a civil engineer for the U.S. Forest Service, and A Forest Environment was written from his experiences. He loved the woods and the animals that lived there, hunted, fished and loved to camp and explore.

In a chronicle spanning two generations, Stephen shares his adventures in the wild, as well as the insights of his father, a veteran of the Maine woods, in the early 1900s, working for the paper industry.

Join Stephen as he comes face-to-face with a bear for the first time, catches 22 trout on 22 casts and hunts mountain goats. Traveling all the way from the woods of Maine to the forests of Alaska, Stephen learns how engineers for the U.S. Forest Service built roads and bridges so the forest resources could be managed to meet the needs of the greatest number of people in the long run. He shares these lessons of the twentieth century with readers of the twenty-first century in an intimate and humorous story-telling style.

Advocates of maintaining our nation's forests, casual outdoor enthusiasts, and those completely new to the idea of 'the great outdoors' will discover the charm and wonder to be found in A Forest Environment.

Pack your camping gear and get your fishing rod and hunting rifle because A Forest Environment is going to take you on an adventure of a lifetime. ... Read more

Product Description
The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve has captured the worldwide attention of biologists, conservationists, and ecologists and has been the setting for extensive investigation over the past 30 years. Roughly 40,000 ecotourists visit the Cloud Forest each year, and it is often considered the archetypal high-altitude rain forest.

This volume brings together some of the most prominent researchers of the region to provide a broad introduction to the biology of the Monteverde and cloud forests in general. Collecting and synthesizing vital information about the ecosystem and its biota, the book also examines the positive and negative effects of human activity on both the forest and the surrounding communities. Ecologists, tropical biologists, and natural historians will find this volume an indispensable resource as will all those who are fascinated by the magnificent wonders of the tropical forests. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Very good reference book
I have found this to be a fantastically helpful reference book for everything Monteverde-related.This book isn't meant to be a best-seller, it (seems to be) designed for the subset of people who are interested in Monteverde, Costa Rica.If you have spent some time in Monteverde, or plan to, it has pretty much everything you could ever want to know about natural history and climate.It is also put together in an easy and intuitive manner, which counts for a lot when you are trying to find one specific thing in a book that is about everything.It is aimed more towards science, but it also has quite a bit about the history of the town.This is the first place I would look for helpful tidbits of information about Monteverde like yearly rainfall/mist, neat graphs that break down the number of species of plants of various life forms ("X% of plants in MV are climbers, Y% are epiphytes, Z% canopy trees"), and the such.I would strongly suggest it to anyone interested in Monteverde natural history.This is not a field guide, it won't help you identify anything to species, but it will be a very good supplement to pretty much any field guide, so you can see what ever you are interested in the large framework of its ecosystem.

It is also just plain fun read. ... Read more

Product Description
Reforestation and avoiding deforestation are methods of harnessing nature to tackle global warming - the greatest challenge facing humankind. In this book, Colin Hunt deals comprehensively with the present and future role of forests in climate change policy and practice.

The author provides signposts for the way ahead in climate change policy and offers practical examples of forestry's role in climate change mitigation in both developed and tropical developing countries. Chapters on measuring carbon in plantations, their biodiversity benefits and potential for biofuel production complement the analysis. He also discusses the potential for forestry in climate change policy in the United States and other countries where policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions have been foreshadowed. The author employs scientific and socio-economic analysis and lays bare the complexity of forestry markets. A review of the workings of carbon markets, based both on the Kyoto Protocol and voluntary participation, provides a foundation from which to explore forestry's role. Emphasis is placed on acknowledging how forests' idiosyncrasies affect the design of markets for sequestered carbon. The realization of forestry's potential in developed countries depends on the depth of cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, together with in-country rules on forestry. An increase in funding for carbon retention in tropical forests is an immediate imperative, but complexities dictate that the sources of finance will likely be dedicated funds rather than carbon markets.

This timely and comprehensive book will be of great value to any reader interested in climate change. Policy-makers within international agencies and governments, academics and students in the fields of geography, economics, science policy, forestry, development studies as well as carbon market participants and forest developers in the private sector will find it especially useful. ... Read more

Product Description
Discusses the environmental conditions of rain forests, the plants and animals that live in these forests, and the dangers of deforestation. ... Read more

Product Description
Forest conservation has become one of the most important environmental issues currently facing humanity, as a result of widespread deforestation and forest degradation. Pressures on remaining natural forests continue to intensify, leading to high rates of biodiversity loss. Understanding how human activities influence ecological processes within forests is essential for developing effective conservation action.
This book describes research methods and techniques relevant to understanding forest ecology, with a particular focus on those that are relevant to practical conservation and sustainable forest management. This information is currently disparate and difficult to locate and, as with other books in this series, the intention is to provide a comprehensive synthesis for use by graduate students, researchers and practising conservationists. Methods are presented for assessing forest extent and condition, structure and composition, and forest dynamics at a variety of scales. Techniques for assessing genetic variation and reproductive ecology, and for evaluating the habitat value of forests are also described. Particular emphasis is given to state-of-the-art techniques such as remote sensing, GIS, computer modelling and molecular markers. However, traditional methods of forest mensuration and ecological survey are also presented. The methods and techniques described are generally applicable to all forest types, including both temperate and tropical forest ecosystems. ... Read more

Product Description

Shaped by fire for thousands of years, the forests of the western United States are as adapted to periodic fires as they are to the region's soils and climate. Our widespread practice of ignoring the vital role of fire is costly in both ecological and economic terms, with consequences including the decline of important fire-dependent tree and undergrowth species, increasing density and stagnation of forests, epidemics of insects and diseases, and the high potential for severe wildfires.

Flames in Our Forest explains those problems and presents viable solutions to them. It explores the underlying historical and ecological reasons for the problems associated with our attempts to exclude fire and examines how some of the benefits of natural fire can be restored Chapters consider:

• the history of American perceptions and uses of fire in the forest
• how forest fires burn
• effects of fire on the soil, water, and air
• methods for uncovering the history and effects of past fires
• prescribed fire and fuel treatments for different zones in the landscape

Flames in Our Forest presents a new picture of the role of fire in maintaining forests, describes the options available for restoring the historical effects of fires, and considers the implications of not doing so. It will help readers appreciate the importance of fire in forests and gives a nontechnical overview of the scientific knowledge and tools available for sustaining western forests by mimicking and restoring the effects of natural fire regimes. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Why We Need a Policy Shift in Wildland Fire Fighting
During this past summer, at least 12 firefighters have died tragically while fighting fires in California forests. Most, if not all, of these deaths occurred while battling fires that were natural occurring, lightning sparked fires in wilderness areas that were miles away from any buildings, towns or property of value.

Since fire exclusion became policy in our forests, the amount of fuel has increased steadily to the point where of forests, particularly in wilderness areas, are tinder boxes ready to explode. Some of that happened this summer, but there are many millions of acres in the West in a similar position. In addition to risking lives, we are spending millions and millions of dollars to protect something that really does not need protection.

This book offers a reasonable alternative to continued fire suppression in wildland areas and offers solutions that are workable and will return forests to their natural states. It is well written, heavily footnoted and presented in a style that allows readers with a minimum amount of knowledge of the science to be able to understand the information. Highly recommended!

Best summary of the current fire environment in North America today
Steve Arno is one of America's premier fire scientists.A solid professional with a knack for writing about technical things in layman's terms, Arno's book is 180 pages of succinct, highly readable, very accurate writing about this critical issue.What is happening with fire in America today?Why does it matter?What do we know?What have we learned?What can we do about it?If you don't read another book about fire, this is the one.Arno's followup, Mimicking Nature's Fire, is an outstanding primer on prescribed fire.I can't wait for Steve's next effort.This is the kind of science that anyone can understand and his conclusions that fire is both necessary and out of balance are compelling, as are his recommendations for where we go from here.To continue to suffer fires like the recent Tahoe disaster, human-caused in every way, with a book like this already showing us the way to more responsible living in the fire environment is just criminal malpractice on the part of citizens and angencies who continue to ignore the truths that Arno so clearly sees.Read this book and then buy a copy for your Senator. ... Read more

Product Description
With detailed information available for perhaps only a few hundred of the many thousand of species that occur, our current knowledge of the ecology of tropical rainforest trees is limited. This book aims to summarize the contemporary understanding of the ecology of tropical rainforest trees. The emphasis is on comparative ecology, an approach that can help to identify possible adaptive trends and evolutionary constraints and that may also lead to a workable ecological classification for tree species, conceptually simplifying the rainforest community and making it more amenable to analysis. ... Read more

Product Description
"The Kendrick manuscript illustrates and fully supports the claims of many that there was and still is a lot of gold in the green . . . Cleverly elevates the value of Florida's renewable natural resources and clearly lets you see the forests and the trees. When it comes to forest history, there is simply not another work like it!"--Jeff Doran, executive vice president, Florida Forestry Association

"An excellent account of how important Florida's forests have been in providing the capital to permit exciting and rapid growth and development during the last 150 years; moreover, we're still enjoying vast increasing areas of beautiful and useful trees."--Jacob B. Huffman, University of Florida

Five hundred years ago, when Ponce de Leon landed on the shores of Florida, 27 million acres of virgin timber--chiefly longleaf, slash pine and large areas of cypress, loblolly pine, sand pine, palms, and oaks--covered the land that constitutes the state today. Of the 15 million acres now forested, 12 million are privately held. This lively, 500-year history of Florida's forests begins before the Spaniards colonized the state, when Native American tribes felled trees to build shelters and canoes, carve ritual masks and weapons, and make firewood. These tribes revered Florida's forests; they understood the dangers of wildfires set by lightning and were careful when burning underbrush to improve forage or aid in the hunt. Their closeness to nature and dependence on forests for their way of life made Native Americans Florida's first "forest managers."

Florida historian Baynard Kendrick offers first-person accounts by the people who explored, logged, reforested, and managed Florida's forests. His chapters feature correspondence from conquistadors as well as memoirs by early settlers, loggers, and mill operators whose work triggered a forest conservation movement in the 1920s. Commissioned by the Florida Board of Forestry in 1966 on the eve of the environmental era, Kendrick's manuscript--titled "Florida's Perpetual Forests"--went unpublished for four decades. Barry Walsh has picked up where Kendrick left off, making this the first book to fully document Florida's forest history through the modern day. Enlightening and accessible to a broad audience, this book will appeal to historians, conservationists, foresters, agricultural leaders, archaeologists, anthropologists, legislators, and many more. ... Read more

Product Description

Tropical rainforests are disappearing due to agricultural intensification and climate change, causing irreversible losses in biodiversity and associated ecosystem functioning. Ecosystem properties and human well-being are profoundly influenced by environmental change, which is often not considered during land use intensification. Understanding these processes needs an integrated scientific approach linking ecological, economic and social perspectives at different scales, from the household and village level to landscapes and regions. The chapters in this book cover a broad range of topical research areas, from sustainable agroforestry management, climate change effects on rainforests and agroforests to integrated concepts of land use in tropical landscapes.

Product Description
Warren Dean chronicles the chaotic path to what could be one of the greatest natural disasters of modern times: the disappearance of the Atlantic Forest. A quarter the size of the Amazon Forest, and the most densely populated region in Brazil, the Atlantic Forest is now the most endangered in the world. It contains a great diversity of life forms, some of them found nowhere else, as well as the country's largest cities, plantations, mines, and industries. Continual clearing is ravaging most of the forested remnants.Dean opens his story with the hunter-gatherers of twelve thousand years ago and takes it up to the 1990sthrough the invasion of Europeans in the sixteenth century; the ensuing devastation wrought by such developments as gold and diamond mining, slash-and-burn farming, coffee planting, and industrialization; and the desperate battles between conservationists and developers in the late twentieth century.Based on a great range of documentary and scientific resources,With Broadax and Firebrand is an enormously ambitious book. More than a history of a tropical forest, or of the relationship between forest and humans, it is also a history of Brazil told from an environmental perspective. Dean writes passionately and movingly, in the fierce hope that the story of the Atlantic Forest will serve as a warning of the terrible costs of destroying its great neighbor to the west, the Amazon Forest. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

A Great Book!
To read this book is to learn how a colonization exterminated the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Laws, economics process, natives agriculture, how the urbanization burned the forest and fens. Except the first chaptre, about the evolution of the forest by geologic times, all is perfect.
I use this book in my class - Geography of Brazil and the students love it. (...)

What can I say?It's great!
Having actually lived in the country and visited the Amazon rain forest, this depiction of the destruction of the Atlantic rainforest and the effects there is highly factual and rather interesting.It is one of theonly successful ecological histories about a forest!If you want a goodread about the disappearance of one of Brazil's most historical aspects,then this book is for you.

Impressive environmental history of Brazil
This book is bound to change your view of Brazilian history, and of environmental history. A must read for anyone interested in either. A good Portuguese language translation is available. ... Read more

Product Description
Like the first edition, this revised and updated edition of Tropical Rainforests: Latin American Nature and Society in Transition provides a variety of perspectives on the complex relationship between society and nature on the rainforest frontiers of Latin America. Containing eleven new articles from experts in various fields and an updated introduction by the editor, this book provides an overview of the complex issues of tropical deforestation, both past and present.

... Read more

Product Description
A vibrant introduction to the plants, animals, birds, and insects that inhabit these extraordinary ecosystems.Plenty of photographs and "gee-whiz" facts - the sloth sleeps 80% of its life; hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards - will keep kids coming back for more., , Spread by colorful spread this book explores the many layers of the world's rain forests.Following a logical path of information from the general to the specific, topics cover what and where rain forests are, the incredible plant-life (the rafflesia's flower grows up to 4 feet wide and weigh up to 25 pounds!), amazing animals, birds, and insects, jungle predators, life in the rivers, and animal calls. All of this in an engaging, vibrant, and fun formatwith plenty of gee-whiz facts (the sloth sleeps 80% of its life, hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly backwards) that will keep kids coming back again and again. ... Read more

Product Description

The Amazon rain forest covers more than five million square kilometers, amid the territories of nine different nations. It represents over half of the planet’s remaining rain forest. Is it truly in peril? What steps are necessary to save it? To understand the future of Amazonia, one must know how its history was forged: in the eras of large pre-Columbian populations, in the gold rush of conquistadors, in centuries of slavery, in the schemes of Brazil’s military dictators in the 1960s and 1970s, and in new globalized economies where Brazilian soy and beef now dominate, while the market in carbon credits raises the value of standing forest.

            Susanna Hecht and Alexander Cockburn show in compelling detail the panorama of destruction as it unfolded, and also reveal the extraordinary turnaround that is now taking place, thanks to both the social movements, and the emergence of new environmental markets. Exploring the role of human hands in destroying—and saving—this vast forested region, The Fate of the Forest pivots on the murder of Chico Mendes, the legendary labor and environmental organizer assassinated after successful confrontations with big ranchers. A multifaceted portrait of Eden under siege, complete with a new preface and afterword by the authors, this book demonstrates that those who would hold a mirror up to nature must first learn the lessons offered by some of their own people.

Product Description
Examines the ecology, importance, and systematic destruction of the world's rain forests. ... Read more