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Transcript of Afforestation: Policies, planning and progress: edited by Alexander Mather Belhaven Press, London,...
between nature and society. before
moving to a more ordinary empirical
study of uneven development in the
southern High Plains of Texas and
New Mexico. The two following
essays deal with conflicts between
agriculture and land conservation in
the USA and Canada. Development
of policy and rural proprammes is
presented in chapters covering extensi-
fication, set-aside, the urban fringe.
forestry. and research. The final
theme is analysed by Lisa Harrington
(Chapter 14) from the point of view of research enterprises and their impact
on rural space in the USA and the
esplicit designation of stretches of
countryside for environmental research
purposes. Sustainable agriculture as a
policy option is explored in three
chapters. among which fan Bowler
offers a thoughtful discussion of the
cmergcnce of organic agriculture in
the UK. md Janet Curry-Kopcr cx-
aminca tho philophical position of
altcrnativc ilgriculturc in conventional
rural paradigms in the IJSA.
vollllllc 2 begins with ;I rcvicw 01
uncvcn sc)cick!conomic dcvclopmcnt
and the .signific;incc of rural poverty in
both the 1JK and the USA. bcforc
moving on to analyst aspcct5 of social
change in the countrysitlc. Toronto’s
rural fringe and ths American ‘Mitt-
lands arc placctl under ths micro-
XX~‘C. bcforc f:iona Mackcnzic cx-
aniincs the ttclicatc issue of wonlcn’s
insccurrty as partners in farm
busincsscs in Ontario. This challcng-
ing and thcorctically informed essay
stands out from many rcvicw piccc\ in
both volunics. Essays on the particular
problems faced by the rural cldcrly
;iricl the need to cnsurc the provision
of dccsnt. affordahlc hoikng in ths
countryside coniptctc thi5 section.
Four chapters then focus on the
internally conflicting ksucs of cnviron-
mental prcscrvation and rural rccrca-
tion in the USA. UK and Canada.
f<ur;rl cmptoymcnt has ncvcr been
cquatcd with agriculture. and three
essays touch on the much (over?) rs-
5carchctl thcnic of pluriactivity. with
one rili5irlg the difficult question Of
whether fragitc rural comniunitiss (in
LAND USE POLICY July 1994
the Prairies) should be supported and
sustained or allowed to disappear. Dr-
velopment strategies for rural areas
come in various shapes and sizes. in-
cluding top-down government poli-
cies, community or area-based initia-
tives. and household-based opportuni-
ties for economic diversification and
revitalization. The collection con-
cludes with Jackie Wolfe’s provocative
discussion of the changing pattern of
aboriginal (Indian) self-government in
Canada.
Cottlcttrporcrr~ Kurd .SysltwS itr
Trtrtairiotr offers a great deal of up-to-
date information on themes of vital
significance in rural studies and rural
management. Agricultural production
in the post-industrial societies of North America and the UK has cn-
tcrcd a new and challenging phase.
and concerns arc growing for cnviron-
Illcllt;ll conservation and for rlliliIlt;lin-
ing SOCiill wclfarc CvCIl though IllilrliL!t
prirlciplc5 arc’ overriifirlg notions of
the wclfarc 5tatc. ‘f‘hus the component
css;Ivs. which cmphaki02 that ths
countryside is inilccd contcstcd space,
will bc of con~iilcr;ibIc intcrc4 to
acailcniic5, stutlcnls and pl;inncrs.
f Iowcvcr. tho5c very f;iniili;lr with
Book reviews
the literature will recognize a number
of old friends only partially dressed up
in new clothes. Those searching for
theory may be somewhat disappointed
by this display of work by Anglo-
American rural geographers. Others
looking for material relating to con-
tincntat Europe will have to search
elsewhere.
In short, this is a solid. clearly writ-
ten. informative collection which pro-
vides a permanent record of what
must have been an exccllcnt confer-
cnce as well as being a valuable library
resource for all who are interested in
recent changes in the countrysides of
North America and the UK. At f70.00
for the two volumes, which appear
only in hardback. WC cannot imagine
there will be many individual purchas-
ers and the book is ccrtilirlly beyond
the student market. This i\ ;I pity since
Illillly of the essays arc of direct rctc-
vancc to atlvanccd stuttcnts in agri-
CllltUrill gco~raphy. agrir‘ulturat cco-
nomics, rural studies and coiintry~iilc
planning.
Hugh Clout and Alun Jones Deparfment of Geography University College London
National tree planting programmes analysed AFFORESTATION: POLICIES,
PLANNING AND PROGRESS
edifed by Alexander Mather
Be/haven Press, London, 1993, 223 pp, f39.50
l’hi5 hook brings togcthcr accounts of
afforc5tation in 12 countriss. five from
Iluropc (f%ritain, Ireland. f)cnm;irk.
f lungary ;IIKI Spain). one from North
Africa (Algeria). two from Asia ((‘hi-
na and Japan), Chitc. the USA, and
Australia and New Zealand. This
asscmhly is notabls for the absence of
wholly tropical or typically Third World countries. kly own covcragc of
policy and planning is5ucs in I’kltrrtr-
tiotr Eitrcwr~ itr ~lrc* Tropics (Oxford,
IV)?) is too brief. Indeed. it uould
Ilxvc been mo\t instructive for Mathcr
to have included fIr;izil and India, who
have undcrtakcn ma5sivc afforcstation
prograninic5 in ths la5t three dccadcs
or to incttrdc sonic countries from
suh-Saharan Africa whcrc plantation
dcvclopnicnt has ptaycit an important
if intsrmittcnt role. I lowcvcr. this ini-
tial criticism is to inform the rcadcr
what to cxpcct; the contributions
thcnisclvcs of the countries includcif
arc nioht instructive and helpful to any
rcailcr intcrcstcd in forestry policy
and in particular afforc~tation as a tool
for tllilt policy.
I greatly cnjoycd reading this book,
perhaps bccausc the analysis of
afforsstation was largely from the
pcrspcctivc of professional gcogra-
phcrs rather than forcstcrs. and thi5
brought an objectivity and disintcrcst
247
not always found when foresters
analyse their own subject. Almost all
the reports follow a historical
approach. &scribing how afforesta-
tion policies and practice have de-
veloped in their country and how
these have been influenced by events
and decisions of government ;1s poli-
cies have waxed and waned regarding
the promotion of tree planting. Thex
historical surveys were usually con-
cluded by an analysis of successes and
failures. This last part ten&xi to be the
wcd=xst in terms of identifying con-
crete recornln~ndatioiis or guidance
for future policy makers.
In ;I book such as this. one is con-
fronted by ai1 array of cl;~Li and in-
form;ttion and the reviewer is tempted
to pick out interesting highlights. I will
siiccurr~h only iis far iis tiollow~. About
S5’%, of forests in Ircl;lnd arc st;itc
oWlled, their 111c'il11 yield cl;I\s (llleilll
;11iliu;11 incrcnicn~) is I5 iii’ per hectare
per year, and Ireland has achieved
75% self-sufficiency in timber. Den-
mark proposes to double its area of
forest in the next 75 years. Hungary
afforested some SCM) (MM) hectarer dur-
ing the Communist era and is planning
an additional I. I million hectares ;I\
part of the great national green pro-
gramme. and Spain is reported to have
afforested an astonishing 3.5 million
hectares between lYJ.3 and lYX3. pri-
marily with eucalypts and pines. Out-
side of Europe the data are of just as
much interest. with ;I critical analy>i!,
of Mrs Cnmpbell-Purdy’s efforts to
create ;I green wall around the Sahara
‘paralysins Algerian forestry. China’s pcnuine achievement of 3(WO million
hectares of new trco plantations since
the IOJOs being put into pcrspcclivc.
criticism of Chile’s /‘itlrlv rtrditrttr
pl;int;ition\ ;irld their lack of diversity.
an;dysis of New Ze;llikn<l’s recent pl-i-
v;itiz;ition ;iritl ils intcnlion to afforcst
100 (HI0 hectares per year. the lack of
eucalypt plantations in the home of
eucalypts. ie Australia. Japan.5 over-
stocked forest which cover\ 65% of
the Iand surface and, lady. the prcat
importance of direct seedins. particu-
larly in southern pine forests. as ;I tool
for afforestation in the USA,
Wither’s book is a unique cnmpila-
tion of experience and is essential
reading for all foresters and policy makers involved in national tree plant-
ing proprammcs. Afforcstation will
continue 1o rise up the political agen-
da: thus the book is surely rquired
reading for those far removed from
forest m~in;igenicnt itself but with ;I
keen intcrcs.t in I:incl use policies - 3s
cklather and his fellow gc’~grapher~
recognize.
Julian Evans Forestry Authority Wrecclesham. UK
Calendar l~:vcnl I)rlilils Train
Inlcrnation;il Geographic Union Hcgional
(‘onfcrcncc lOOJ - Iinvironmcnt ;iriJ
0u;ility of I.ifc in C’cntral ISuroy>c:
I’rohlcnis 0f’l‘r;insition
17th Urban Daf;i M;in;igc:nicnt
Symposium
Intcrn;itional Society of City and kgional
I’Lmncr~ World Congress: New D~III;II~~~S
on the I’l;inning I’rofcssion ancl its I’rxlice
Urban Growth ;intl the fJnvironnicnt
UDM Symposium “94 Sccrstari:lt. 1 klsinki
University of Technology, I<cvontulcntic:
6. FIN-02100 Espoo, Finland. Tel: +35X0 45 I 4054, fax: +35S 0 45 I IOhX
ISOCAIII’ Sccrctariat. 7.7 Xl;~uritskadc.
25 1-I I ID ‘l‘hc I Iague. ‘l‘hc Ncthcrlands.
‘I’d: +.I1 7OMXS4. fax: +31 703hl 7009
C‘ongrcss Secretariat. IO Tonsky l'I;icc.
1.0111l011 SWIX 1131'. UK
This calcnrlar of cvcn1s is b;bcil on inforni;ition provirlctl by the rcqX!ctivs organizers
illld from sccontlary sources. [_trrltl U.W Policy wclcorncs inform;ition on rckv;int
meetings. (‘opy ilc;iillinc\ arc’ four month5 ;ilic;iil of cover tl;iIc and inform;ition should
bc S.clll to:
248 LAND USE POLICY July 1994