Balancing Act: Environmental Issues in Forestry - Softcover

Kimmins, J. P. Hamish

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0774805749 ISBN 13: 9780774805742

Publisher: UBC Press, 1997

Synopsis

In Balancing Act Hamish Kimmins calls for a balanced, more objective approach to forestry issues. He argues that these issues are too often debated without any common understanding of what forestry is really all about or about how forest ecosystems work. This new edition of the bestselling book has been revised to reflect new thinking about sustainable forestry and includes three completely new chapters. In the first few chapters of the book, the basic principles of forestry and ecology are outlined. The major issues facing forestry in the 1990s and beyond -- not only in British Columbia but worldwide -- are then discussed. These include clearcutting, slashburning, management chemicals, old growth, biological diversity, 'new forestry,' climate change, acid rain, the comparison between temperate and tropical forestry, long-term decisions in forestry, and the sustainability of various forest values. The new chapters look at the ongoing debate over the meaning of 'sustainable forestry,' 'respect for nature,' 'ecosystem management,' and ecosystem 'health and integrity.' This new edition of Balancing Act goes further in clarifying the issues at the heart of the forestry/environment debate. Readers will gain a new understanding of how our forest ecosystems work and how they can be managed sustainably.

About this title

About the Author

Hamish Kimmins is a professor of forestry ecology in the Department of Forest Sciences at the University of British Columbia. He is past chairman of the BC Ecological Reserves Committee, was moderator of the National Forest Round Table, and has been a consultant to government, the forest industry and environmental groups on proposals for wilderness areas, parks, and ecological reserves, and on a variety of environmental issues in forestry.

From the Back Cover

In Balancing Act Hamish Kimmins calls for a balanced, more objective approach to forestry issues. He argues that these issues are too often debated without any common understanding of what forestry is really all about or about how forest ecosystems work. This new edition of the bestselling book has been revised to reflect new thinking about sustainable forestry and includes three completely new chapters. The new chapters look at the on-going debate over the meaning of 'sustainable forestry, ' 'respect for nature, ' 'ecosystem management, ' and ecosystem 'health and integrity.'. This new edition of Balancing Act goes further in clarifying the issues at the heart of the forestry/environment debate. Readers will gain a new understanding of how our forest ecosystems work and how they can be managed sustainably.

Edition details

• Publisher: UBC Press
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0774805749
• ISBN 13: 9780774805742
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 310