Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

Today, the world’s forests are threatened by global warming, growing demand for wood products, and increasing pressure to clear tropical forests for agricultural use. Economic globalization has enabled Western corporations to export timber processing jobs and import cheap wood products from developing countries. Timber plantations of exotic, fast-growing species supply an ever-larger amount of the world’s wood. In response, many countries have established forest areas protected from development. In this book, Brett Bennett views today’s forestry issues from a historical perspective. The separation of wood production from the protection of forests, he shows, stems from entangled environmental, social, political, and economic factors. This divergence—driven by the concomitant intensific[...]

Today, the world’s forests are threatened by global warming, growing demand for wood products, and increasing pressure to clear tropical forests for agricultural use. Economic globalization has enabled Western corporations to export timber processing jobs and import cheap wood products from developing countries. Timber plantations of exotic, fast-growing species supply an ever-larger amount of the world’s wood. In response, many countries have established forest areas protected from development. In this book, Brett Bennett views today’s forestry issues from a historical perspective. The separation of wood production from the protection of forests, he shows, stems from entangled environmental, social, political, and economic factors. This divergence—driven by the concomitant intensification of production and creation of vast protected areas—is reshaping forest management systems both public and private.