Most land in the United States is in rural areas, as are the sources of most of its fresh water and almost all its other natural resources. This book focuses on two complex interdependencies - one pertaining to natural resources and human welfare, the other to urban and rural communities and their economies.

The connections between communities and forests are complex and evolving, presenting challenges to forest managers, researchers, and communities themselves. This book examines the responses of forest communities to changing forest values, changing federal policy, timber industry restructuring, and concerns about forest health. Focusing primarily on the United States, the book examines the ways that social scientists work with communities - their role in facilitating social learning, informing policy decisions, and contributing to community well-being.As dependency on timber extraction is no...

The connections between communities and forests are complex and evolving, presenting challenges to forest managers, researchers, and communities themselves. Dependency on timber extraction and timber-related industries is no longer a universal characteristic of the forest community. Remoteness is also a less common feature, as technology, workforce mobility, tourism, and 'amenity migrants' increasingly connect rural to urban places. Forest Community Connections explores the responses of forest communities to a changing economy, changing federal policy, and concerns about forest health from...

In the last twenty years, policy makers in Australia have been forced to acknowledge that it is not possible to perpetually supply more water at a low cost. Consequently, the country has begun to focus on water resource management through legislative and institutional change attempting to allocate water in a more economically efficient and socially and environmentally acceptable manner. This book provides insight into the challenges of institutional change, as well as valuable lessons on the design of property rights for complex resources. Contributors from across disciplines address...

To millions of people in the world, rice is the center of existence, especially in Asia, where more than 90 percent of the world's rice is grown. This book is about the trends and changes that have occurred in the Asian rice economy since World War II, but particularly since the introduction of new varieties of rice and modern technology in the mid-1960s. Although there is now a vast amount of literature and statistical data on various aspects of the subject, no single comprehensive treatment has previously been prepared. The Rice Economy of Asia not only provides such a treatment but also...