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* Examines the costs, benefits and impacts of the privatization of state owned forests
* Provides evidence-based lessons and guidance for policymakers and the forest industry from top international experts
* International cases studies from a range of developed and developing countries


Private sector delivery of state services is increasingly common worldwide and state forest plantation management is no exception. Increasingly governments are transferring rights and responsibilities to the private sector for state-owned plantations. Some claim that this road will achieve sustainable forest management, greater contributions to local livelihoods and poverty reduction. Others disagree.
This book examines the evidence and explores the many issues raised by these changing relationships between the state, the private sector and local livelihoods. Experiences from around the world are described through seven case studies from Australia, China, Chile, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom, and key lessons and clear guidance are provided on how governments can best achieve a balance between private and public involvement while continuing to deliver key social goods and services expected by all citizens. ... Read more

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*How to create policies in line with the political and market realities of one of the world's major natural resources
*Explains the process and criteria for policy that resolves forest problems and ensures equitable and sustainable use for all those involved
*The most authoritative study to date, based on extensive worldwide research
*Essential reading for forest managers in all contexts
*Foreword by Jag Maini

Forestry issues vary from place to place but the pattern of forest problems is common to most countries – loss of natural forests, centralized control, inequitable access, lack of information and resources, and ossified institutions. Policy is at the root of most of the problems.
This volume offers a thorough analysis of the issues and the options, and the factors that determine different outcomes. It goes on to provide clear and practical advice on how to formulate, manage and implement policies appropriate to different contexts -- policies that result in real improvements in the governance, use and economic benefits that can flow from forests to those who depend upon them. ... Read more

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*"This book is the first to set out in clear, simple language what needs to be done. It deserves a place on every forest manager’s desk and field pack" --Duncan Poore
*"In a very practical and accessible way…the handbook provides a framework for understanding, planning and implementing improved forest management techniques" --ETRFN News
*"A stimulating guide to many of the issues likely to be faced in contemporary forest management" --James Sowerby, Shell Forestry Ltd


"The Sustainable Forestry Handbook" is widely considered to be the essential aid to understanding and implementing sustainable forest management. Providing a clear and concise guide to the practicalities of implementing international standards for sustainable forest management, this fully updated second edition covers new Forest Stewardship Council requirements, High Conservation Value Forests, clearer requirements on pesticides and changing policy and forest governance. Aimed at forest managers and employing extensive cross referencing and easy to understand illustrations, this highly practical handbook explains in clear terms what the standards require forest managers to do and how they might go about implementing them. ... Read more

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The remarkable web of plants and animals living around a single old fir tree takes on a life of its own in this stunningly illustrated story. Carol Reed-Jones' repetitive, cumulative verse--a poetic technique that children universally enjoy--aptly portrays the amazing ways in which the inhabitants of the forest depend upon one another for survival. Christopher Canyon's memorable full-color paintings manage to be both magical and true to life. Complete with a guide to the forest creatures and their interrelationships, this book is a valuable learning tool as well as fun for kids. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Great illustrations, terrible verse
This book has wonderfully bold, creatively designed illustrations which makes it enjoyable to flip through. But the plodding text makes it impossible to read! Cumulative verse can be very fun and effective, but in this book the author made no attempt to create a lyrical "chorus" that kids would be able to chime in on when being read to, or even that adults would be able to read aloud pleasantly. The point of the interconnectedness of life in an ecosystem doesn't come across well in the story alone... only by reading the letter from the author at the beginning and the pages of notes at the end do you get the full picture of what the book is trying to say. I think the concept of the book was great, but it failed miserably in execution, thanks to the poorly written verse.

Wonderful story and Beautiful pictures!
I purchased this as a gift for my daughter's teacher.I love the poem-like story explaining how everything is connected to something else.The pictures are very beautiful with a lot of detail.

Life in a conifer forest, up close & vivid!
Come into a deep, old northern forest where trees reach for the sky, hundreds of feet high. Where their roots beneath the duff, spread out in vast tendrils seeking food, creating food for voles & mice, who, in turn, are fattened up for the owls hunting for food for their owlets.

Carol Reed-Jones has created a lyrical story of life around an old-growth fir tree, & Christopher Canyon's illustrations are bright, powerful & absorbing.

A keeper, its story is delightful & its images memorable.

Outstanding depiction of the Circle of Life!
"The Tree in the Ancient Forest" depicts the"circle of life" concept in a beautifully presented, easilyread format.The author, Carol Reed-Jones captures the essence of the importance and beauty of an ancient forest, presenting a different element on each page.Christopher Canyon's illustrations offer additional beauty to the ideas penned by the author.A wonderful book for children and adults alike -- a great gift book for the ecologically-minded, nature-lover! Highly recommended! ... Read more

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Our forests currently face many crises, ranging from barren land in many developing countries, to die-back trees in polluted parts of Europe, to the less tangible consequences of forest decline for planetary stability. The issues require urgent attention.Our Forests, Our Future answers this need.Coverage advocates radical reform of policies, calls for new political leadership, more personal involvement from men and women throughout the world, and more science. ... Read more

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Outcome of papers presented at a workshop called JFM--An Enabling Environment held in Dec. 1994 at Calcutta. ... Read more

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The forest sector, historically Canada's largest industry and largest employer, remains today the source of most of Canada's positive balance of trade on goods and commodities. Why, then, is there a dearth of policy literature devoted to exploring the industry as a nation-wide phenomenon?

Arguing that the complexity of policy-making in the forest sector has led many analysts to focus exclusively on specific sectoral activities or jurisdictions, this collection of essays offers a simplifying framework of analysis developed in comparative public policy studies to address the current status of Canadian forest policy nationwide. Using case studies of historical and contemporary federal and provincial forest policies, the essays examine the manner in which changes in resource management ideas, subsystem membership, industrial organization, policy processes, international affairs and intergovernmental initiatives have affected the sector.

Insightful and authoritative, this volume will be a helpful resource for senior students and scholars in the fields of political science, forestry, public administration, history, geography, and Canadian, environmental, and labour studies. It will also be of value to policy makers who must grapple with the complexity of policy-making in the sector on a day-to-day basis. ... Read more

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The storage of carbon in forest ecosystems has received special attention in the Kyoto protocol of the Climate Convention, which attempts to equilibrate fossil fuel emissions with biological sinks. This volume quantifies carbon storage in managed forest ecosystems not only in biomass, but also in all soil compartments. It investigates the interaction between the carbon and nitrogen cycles by working along a north-south transect through Europe which starts in northern Sweden, passes through a N-deposition maximum in central Europe and ends in Italy. Surprisingly, C storage in soils increases with N deposition; in addition, not young reforestations, but old growth forests have the highest rate of carbon sequestration. For the first time biogeochemical processes are linked to biodiversity on a large geographic scale and with special focus on soil organisms. The enclosed CD-ROM provides a complete database of all flux, storage and species observations for modellers. ... Read more

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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

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This book provides a comprehensive analysis of the economic value of Mediterranean forests, including not only the more obvious benefits (e.g. timber), but also the less commonly-measured public goods (e.g. tourism and conservation) that these forests provide. It brings together forest valuations at the national level from eighteen Mediterranean countries, based on extensive local data collection, and thus allows comprehensive analyses within countries as well as comparative analyses across countries. Forest benefits were classified within the Total Economic Value (TEV) framework. The book describes the valuation techniques used and examines ways to overcome the problems encountered. The book explores the research findings in the context of the institutions and policies that affect Mediterranean forests and proposes new policy approaches for improving forest policies and management at the national, regional and local levels. It is also shown how the methodologies used can be applied to other regions. ... Read more

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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

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From recycled products to organic food, the movement to be "environmentally friendly" is now expanding into the forestry field. Recognizing this impact, Home Depot has committed to giving preference to selling "certified wood," proven to come from forests that meet certain biological and social sustainablility standards. Retailers and vendors can offer certified wood through the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and FSC accredited organizations like SmartWood, recently featured in People magazine. ... Read more

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Across the continental United States, one can identify 20 distinct forest cover types. Most of these are to be found on federal lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. Those responsible for the management of trees that form the 20 different cover types and the diversity of forest wildlife that reside in them must have a solid grounding in concepts of forest management, especially silviculture, as well as concepts of wildlife management, in order to integrate both as part of any effective natural resource management plan.

Forest Wildlife Ecology and Habitat Management provides both foresters and wildlife biologists responsible for managing forest resources with an integrated understanding of the relationship between forests and wildlife. Based on David Patton’s 50 years of experience as a forester and wildlife biologist, the book shows readers how to look at forests as ecological systems and wildlife as part of the energy flow and nutrient cycling process within those systems. He offers readers a fundamental understanding of the natural processes that occur in a forest taking into consideration vegetation, water, and the natural effects of climate and time. He then provides a biological perspective on wildlife, discussing reproduction, behavior, feeding habits, and mobility. He also discusses the various influences on forests and wildlife by both natural and human-caused events.

Covering those forest types included in the U.S. National Atlas, and associating over 1,100 wildlife species with 20 major forest types in 48 states, Professor Patton provides recommendations for ways to restore and maintain wildlife habitat by direct and indirect coordination. Towards this end, the author —

• Evaluates various approaches to integrate forestry and wildlife management
• Offers a number of practical management strategies, emphasizing a progressive holistic approach
• Presents the FAAWN (Forest Attributes and Wildlife Needs) data model

A CD-ROM is included that provides readers with easy-to-use software that will help them consider more than 63,000 potential associations among forest components and wildlife within the FAAWN model.

Product Description
The rain forests of West Africa have been designated as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. They extend from Ghana to Senegal and are referred to as the Upper Guinean forests. Because of their isolated position, they harbour a large number of rare and endemic animal and plant species.This book focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of these forests. It analyses the factors that give rise to biodiversity and structure tropical plant communities. It also includes an atlas with ecological profiles of rare plant species and large timber species. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Worthwhile
A large part of this book is an atlas, one page per species: the atlas is in color, as is the Appendix, while the rest of the book is in B&W. Actually there are two atlasses, one of close to three hundred woody plant species (including some monocots) in West Africa and one of fifty timber species that are important in a smaller area (apparently to be called "Upper Guinea"). However, the three hundred species include some additional timber species, that for some reason did not make it into the second atlas.

Per species there always is a description, a detailed distribution map (very clear, in lovely color), and often a line-drawing or color photograph (personally I would have liked more illustrations, if need be at the expense of the size of the distribution map). The Appendix presents maps in a fair degree of detail showing forest cover. The first hundred pages provide general information on West African forests.
... Read more

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The Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina is one of the most devastated and most highly threatened ecosystem on the planet; less than eight percent of the original forest remains and is facing intense population pressures from all sides.

The Atlantic Forest of South America presents a detailed assessment of the state of biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest. Separate sections examine each of the three countries that are home to the forest, beginning with a brief overview that explores the dynamics of biodiversity loss in that country and outlines the topics to be addressed. Following the overview are individual chapters that analyze: ... Read more

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The Nature and Dynamics of Forest-Savanna Boundaries addressesmany themes and links with a great number of the interest groupsconcernedwith current ecological and environmental research in thehumidtropics.It should form part of the reading of all concernedwiththe fate of tropical forest and savanna regions of the world. ... Read more