Reconciling ecotourism and industrial forestry
Forest tourism and recreation. Case studies in environmental management. X. Font and J. Tribe, eds. 2000. Oxford, UK, CABI Publishing. ISBN 0-85199-414-8.
The demand for ecotourism and outdoor recreation is increasing, and if the predictions in this issue of Unasylva hold true these activities are likely to continue to grow in importance. Readers who want to delve further into this aspect of forestry will be interested in Forest tourism and recreation which considers the growing demand for ecotourism; the compatibility among tourism, forestry and conservation; the management of natural resources; and stakeholder and community involvement. Issues are presented through case studies from Canada, Costa Rica, Estonia, Nepal, New Zealand, Singapore and the United Kingdom. These studies demonstrate that effective management of tourism and recreation in forests can provide extra income to help offset the costs of sustainable timber production and encourage conservation of biodiversity. Topics covered include national parks, peri-urban forestry and wilderness management.
The book is structured around two main sections, which focus on issues and problems and on strategies and solutions. Examples are given from the public sector, the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Some chapters deal with issues of general policy and others with more site-specific management. While most discuss multibenefit forests, some emphasize timber production, some recreation and some conservation. Some authors take a theoretical approach and others are practitioners with practical insights.
While the book does not purport to offer comprehensive coverage, it does offer a unique insight into contemporary issues of environmental management of forest tourism and recreation across a range of contexts and geographical situations. Perhaps above all else, the issues of community involvement and stakeholder analysis emerge as those of most significance for sustainable environmental management. The book provides a challenging review for academic and professional readers in tourism and recreation, forestry and environmental conservation.
Looking for the connection between international trade and land use
Agricultural expansion and tropical deforestation - poverty, international trade and land use. S. Barraclough and K. Ghimire. 2000. London, Earthscan. ISBN 1-85383-665-6.
There is no clear-cut cause and effect relationship between tropical deforestation, international trade and agricultural expansion in developing countries. Policy-makers, academics and the public are all too often tempted by simplistic solutions to complex problems. In search of the causal factors involved in this critical area, Barraclough and Ghimire have undertaken a multidisciplinary analysis of economic and agricultural development and their impact on increasing land use pressure and change.
Drawing on data from country case studies ranging over three continents (Brazil and Guatemala in Latin America, Cameroon in Africa, and China and Malaysia in Asia), they show that the analysis must focus both on policies of national and regional authorities and on the forces of trade and globalization. Furthermore, a critical perspective needs to be adopted that incorporates historical and contextual factors such as land tenure and farming systems.
The contents of the book are presented in five chapters: Social determinants of deforestation; The extent of tropical deforestation and agricultural expansion in developing countries; Tropical deforestation and agricultural expansion in the case study countries; Linkages with international trade; and Towards more sustainable use of tropical agriculture and forest resources.
Agricultural expansion and tropical deforestation puts the case for the need to seek solutions in far-reaching institutional and policy reforms at local, national and international levels if the real challenges of tropical deforestation are to be tackled effectively. It can be a valuable reference work for researchers, policy-makers, conservation and development NGOs and a broader public interested in issues of trade, globalization and the politics of land and the environment.
Ensuring sustainable forestry and adequate paper supplies
Paper cuts: recovering the paper landscape. Worldwatch Paper No. 149. J. Abramovitz and A. Mattoon. 1999. Washington, DC, Worldwatch Institute. ISBN 1-878071-51-3.
Will the "paperless office" be a reality in 2050, as some of the authors in this issue of Unasylva have predicted? Not if the trends described in Paper cuts continue unchecked. Abramovitz and Mattoon report that the global use of paper has increased more than sixfold since 1950, with industrialized countries consuming vastly more than developing countries. About one-fifth of all the wood harvested in the world ends up in paper, through a process that, if improperly managed, uses great amounts of chemicals, water and energy and results in high pollution levels.
This short work considers opportunities for maintaining the important services that paper provides while reducing the environmental burden of today's heavy paper consumption. The authors argue strongly that the challenges can be met. Proved and profitable technologies can cut pollution and energy use. Forests and pulpwood plantations can be managed more sustainably. More paper can be recycled. Other currently underutilized fibre sources for paper can be tapped, including agricultural residues and other non-wood materials. Better product design and packaging can reduce paper use, as can a new generation of electronic information technologies. There is also a need for a reassessment of policies that tend to view ever-increasing consumption as a measure of socio-economic growth.
Paper cuts makes for stimulating reading - well worth the paper it is printed on.
Vegetation of the Mediterranean Maghreb
Réflexions sur l'évolution de la flore et de la végétation au Maghreb méditerranéen. P. Quézel. 2000. Paris, Ibis Press. ISBN 2-910728-15-3. In French.
With its proximity to both tropical Africa and the Sahara, the Maghreb region presents some of the richest diversity of Mediterranean vegetation. Over the past decades, however, increasing human and animal pressure has had a growing impact on the extent and diversity of vegetation in the region. Study of the dynamics of vegetation in the Maghreb is particularly relevant in light of the increasing recognition accorded to conservation of biodiversity.
This volume first considers the origins of the flora and climate of the Mediterranean region. A second section considers in depth the extent and composition of current vegetation, with a particular focus on woody species. The third section of the book examines direct and indirect human impacts on biodiversity in the Mediterranean Maghreb. The book is completed by maps, illustrations and an extensive bibliography.
Pierre Quézel, Emeritus Professor at the University of Aix-Marseille III, has dedicated more than 50 years to the research of Mediterranean vegetation, and particularly to that of the Maghreb. He has also written on the subject for Unasylva (P. Quézel, F. Médail, R. Loisel and M. Barbero. 1999. Biodiversity and conservation of forest species in the Mediterranean basin. Unasylva, 197[50/2]: 21-28).
A practical guide to market analysis and development for community forest product enterprises
Community-based tree and forest product enterprises: market analysis and development field manual. I. Lecup and K. Nicholson. 2000. Rome, FAO.
Market analysis and development (MA&D) is an innovative process through which social, institutional and environmental concerns are systematically considered alongside the technological, commercial and financial aspects of enterprise development. MA&D provides a framework for planning tree and forest product enterprises with local communities. This innovative package, composed of seven modules in a plastic carrying case, presents the process step by step, providing a set of tools that can be adapted in order to achieve specific results in the development of business ideas.
Based on experiences garnered over more than a decade of fieldwork in Asia, this MA&D field manual has been designed to guide facilitators who will assist local people in conducting the MA&D process. The field manual:
provides facilitators with a framework for identifying, planning and developing tree and forest product enterprises that will provide income and benefits without degrading the resource base;
helps expand the skills of facilitating agencies (including development project personnel);
presents the techniques and tools for planning field implementation of the different phases of the MA&D process;
presents field research tools for the data collection needed to implement the process.
The manual consists of six booklets and a map of the MA&D process. Booklet A is a general user's guide to the field manual. Booklet B deals with setting objectives. Booklet C covers the first phase of the process - assessment of the existing situation. Booklet D deals with phase two - selecting the most promising products. Booklet E covers phase three - development of a plan for continued growth and development of the selected enterprise. Booklet F is a case study of successful use of the MA&D process, describing the development of a viable enterprise in Viet Nam. The accompanying map offers a graphic overview of the entire process.
Statistics on pulp and paper capacities
Pulp and paper capacities - survey 1999-2004. 2000. Rome, FAO. ISBN 92-4-004482-8. Trilingual (English/French/Spanish).
The annual FAO survey of world pulp and paper capacities is based on figures submitted by correspondents in many countries using a computer questionnaire. It includes country tables showing production capacity for various grades of pulp and paper products, with one country per page; grade tables showing capacity for the various grades by country; and country production tables.
