Is it a sign of the times that last year the Nobel committee chose to award the Nobel Peace prize to Wangari Maathai for having planted 30 million trees? We believe so.We think that while in the 20th century conservation made signi?cant progress on setting up a global protected area network, the 21st century will be a time of forest restoration.The fact that Wangari Maathai is the ?rst African woman to receive such an honourable distinction is in itself a major accomplishment.What is even more remarkable is that, for the ?rst time, this highly esteemed prize, which has long been associated...

Deforestation is frequently a topic of discussion in the environmental arena, but it is not just the number of trees that matters; the quality of the forest is also important. Even where the forest area is stable or increasing, there are often rapid changes in its character. Natural forests are being replaced by plantations or by intensively managed forests. Around the world, forests are becoming younger and less diverse, in both species and structure; this has important impacts for biodiversity and also affects many human values. In this groundbreaking text, forest quality is discussed as a...

The world's forests are disappearing at an alarming rate, and with disastrous consequences. Demand for wood and paper products ranks high amongst the causes of deforestation and forest degradation, and is now the major cause of loss in those forests richest in wildlife. There is a great deal to be done to improve the timber industry before our forests are safely and sustainably managed. Bad Harvest presents an incisive account of the role that the timber trade has played in the loss and degradation of forests around the world. It examines the environmental consequences of the trade on boreal,...

Backed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and other major international bodies, this volume provides a comprehensive global review of the benefits of protected areas for conservation and society.