Plantation Forestry In Guanacaste Costa Rica

Costa Rica was once one of the most deforested countries in the world. Today it is a pioneer in reforestation, forest management, and forest protection policies. The report describes the evolution of these policies since the 1950s, focusing on internal and external influences, particularly those of the World Bank. This case study is one of six evaluations of the implementation of the World Bank's 1991 Forest Strategy

Annotation A collection of papers regarding the conservation of Costa Rica's tropical dry forest, which is disappearing more rapidly than its rain forest, due to ease of conversion to agriculture.

Understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the development of forest plantations—and the conservation involved Controversy surrounds the question of how to best protect forests of high conservation value, while meeting the growing demands for wood and wood fiber-based products. Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry presents the views of a diverse group of conservationists and natural resource professionals who examine important social and economic as well as ecological aspects of the debate. The goal of sustainable forest management is kept at the forefront of the discussions, while alternative strategies to meet economic and social needs are explored in light of the need to conserve biological diversity and protect other important ecological services and environmental values in key forest areas. For developed nations, there is an ethical responsibility to consider sensible development as well as environmental conservation. Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry discusses many of the prominent issues that are raised when considering intensively managed forests (plantations) and/or strict protection of high conservation value forests (protected areas) in the United States and elsewhere. These issues include: the role of plantations and their management; forest management certification to ensure sustainability; job creation from plantations, the effects of intensive forest management on society and the environment; and the protection of biodiversity. This book provides a solid foundation on which to form a consensus that addresses the needs of economics and society as well as forest conservation. Topics in Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry include: the future of forest plantations forest management certification community benefits derived from intensively managed industrial roundwood plantations the extent to which intensive forest management practices on plantations prevent degradation of natural forests positive and negative impacts of plantations on environmental and social values alternative approaches for investment in wood production global policy perspectives on intensive forest production global strategies for biodiversity conservation Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry provides a diversity of perspectives on one of today’s most important developments in international forest policy and international trade in the forest sector. It is intended to contribute to better-informed decision-making, and is an important book for policymakers, forest resource management professionals, and business leaders working to develop practical and effective strategies for sustainable forest management.

Can we prevent the destruction of the world's tropical forests? In the fire-scarred hills of Costa Rica, award-winning science writer William Allen found a remarkable answer: we can not only prevent their destruction--we can bring them back to their former glory. In Green Phoenix, Allen tells the gripping story of a large group of Costa Rican and American scientists and volunteers who set out to save the tropical forests in the northwestern section of the country. It was an area badly damaged by the fires of ranchers and small farmers; in many places a few strands of forest strung across a charred landscape. Despite the widely held belief that tropical forests, once lost, are lost forever, the team led by the dynamic Daniel Janzen from the University of Pennsylvania moved relentlessly ahead, taking a broad array of political, ecological, and social steps necessary for restoration. They began with 39 square miles and, by 2000, they had stitched together and revived some 463 square miles of land and another 290 of marine area. Today this region is known as the Guanacaste Conservation Area, a fabulously rich landscape of dry forest, cloud forest, and rain forest that gives life to some 235,000 species of plants and animals. It may be the greatest environmental success of our time, a prime example of how extensive devastation can be halted and reversed. This is an inspiring story, and in recounting it, Allen writes with vivid power. He creates lasting images of pristine beaches and dense forest and captures the heroics and skill of the scientific teams, especially the larger-than-life personality of the maverick ecologist Daniel Janzen. It is a book everyone concerned about the environment will want to own.