Book Review

BOOK REVIEW

Regreening the Bare Hills: TropicalForest Restoration in the AsiaPacific Region.

David Lamb, 2011. Springer, Dor-drecht, Heidelberg, London and NewYork, 547 pages, $242 (hardcover), ISBN978-90-481-9869-6.

David Lamb’s book aims todemonstrate that, despite histor-

ical and continuing deforestation andforest degradation, there are encour-aging developments across the Asia-Pacific region to guide an informed,multidisciplinary approach to for-est restoration. In a bid to promotereforestation solutions beyond short-rotation monocultures, he sets outguidance to achieve diversity andheterogeneity by emphasizing tech-niques suited to the stakeholders whohe considers to go often unrecog-nized—small landholders. In rapidlychanging times, however, new pres-sures on land and forest resources areposing increasing stresses on the verycommunities that Lamb identifies ashaving close relationships with theirmanaged forests.

Regreening the Bare Hills arriveson the scene as regional and globalreforestation contexts and priori-ties are changing around us. Asone illustration of a rapidly chang-ing imperative, this 2011 publicationexplains the consequences of cli-mate change for forests but makesscant reference to climate changemitigation as a driving force forreforestation (there is a small men-tion of payments for ecosystemservices and carbon storage as poten-tial means of funding reforestation).Yet, this volume has already beenhailed (Sayer 2011) as a signifi-cant contribution to the informationneeds of Reducing Emissions fromDeforestation and forest Degrada-tion + forest management (REDD+).

Lamb’s multi-faceted approach torestoration will attract and informa broad readership, but it is likelythat the advent of Emissions TradingSchemes and increased demand forbiofuels will drive sectors extendingbeyond his assumed target audiencein the direction of reforestation andrelated activities.

The geographical scope of thisbook includes Southeast Asia and theSouthwest Pacific, including tropi-cal and subtropical Australia. Lamb’sinclusion of Australia in his studyarea is worthy of comment by wayof intra-regional contrast. Australiacould be expected to have manyadvantages in terms of tropical forestconservation. Such a wealthy, polit-ically stable nation has the capac-ity (though not always the will) todirect resources, technical expertiseand extension to ecological restora-tion. Despite historical (and ongo-ing) deforestation, Australia retainsextensive tropical forests in bothpublic and private ownership, andhas the luxury of frequent dedica-tion of forest lands for biodiver-sity conservation without necessarilycompromising multiple uses. Publicfunds are available for forest man-agement and reforestation, includingland in private ownership. Thoughhigh labor costs offset these advan-tages, Australia could be expected tolead by example in the field of forestmanagement and restoration.

I write from a part of Australiawhich lies at the southern edge ofLamb’s study area, but is not atyp-ical of more tropical regions. Well-conserved forests, successful refor-estation and experiments from whichmuch is being learned abound, yetdisasters are even now ubiquitous.Here, rural population centers havebeen alarmed by the fire hazardscreated by eucalypt plantations intheir surrounds, only to watch tim-ber companies slip into liquidation,leaving future management and har-vest uncertain and landholders withlease arrangements in limbo. Though

better suited to (less flammable) rain-forest cabinet timbers, large-scaleeucalypt plantations have been estab-lished on high-rainfall fertile soilsand have failed where species arenot well matched to site condi-tions. Plantations of Casuarina cun-ninghamiana for biofuels have meteconomic failure for reasons includ-ing the non-existence of machineryfor harvesting. Regrowth vegetationwith biodiversity conservation val-ues has been cleared for plantationestablishment, and species with inva-sive potential continue to be includedin polycultures. How, then, canless well-resourced nations expect toachieve good restoration outcomes?

The need for, and timeliness of, thispublication is clearly demonstratedand its importance underlined whenwe are informed that plantationsoccupy 7 percent of global forestcover and are increasing in areaannually.

Lamb begins by describing theproblems of deforestation and degra-dation, emphasizing at every stepthe heterogeneity within the studyarea. For instance, causes of defor-estation are demonstrated to dif-fer between and within countriesin the study area. Case studiesinclude logging (Sarawak, Malaysia,the Philippines and the Gogol Valley,Papua New Guinea), post-loggingsettlement (northern Thailand andthe Atherton Tablelands, Australia),large-scale agriculture (Central Kali-mantan, Indonesia) and changedland systems (Western Samoa). Read-ing at a time when natural disastersappear to have clustered, it is infor-mative to read the section on naturaldisturbances—fire, floods, storms,volcanoes and landslips—and forestregeneration responses.

In presenting an account of meth-ods for reforestation, Lamb takesa broad view of plantation types,recognizing both traditional andlarge-scale industrial monoculturaland polycultural forestry for timberproduction and non-timber forest

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Book Review

products. Plantations for biofuelsare not mentioned in this section,again reflecting the rapidly chang-ing times. Management of secondaryforests is recognized as a pressingneed, in view of their expanding areaand great potential for cost-effectivereforestation. While problems ofweed competition are addressed withreference to grasses, bamboo, shrubsand trees, missing is reference toexotic (and native) vines, whichcan be rampant in disturbed forestsand edges, causing physical canopydamage and increasing vulnerabil-ity to storm damage (e.g. Cryptostegiagrandiflora and Thunbergia grandiflorain northern Australia). Ecosystemrestoration techniques using plant-ing or direct seeding and harness-ing and managing natural regenera-tion are all recognized. This sectionis an invaluable reference coveringmany possible combinations of loca-tion, site conditions, objectives andconstraints, liberally illustrated withcase studies, trials and evaluations.Techniques and strategies are relatedto theory where appropriate andpossible.

The sections on making restorationwork, through financing options,providing incentives, extension andpartnerships to farmers in diversecircumstances end with Lamb’s hopethat ‘‘macro-ecological benefits mayarise from micro-economic changes.’’Scaling up and reforesting large areasis the next progression, setting outways to plan and prioritize for thediverse outcomes of restoration andto develop institutional support.

In a final section, as one of thetasks listed as necessary to make

a difference to the future of theworld’s tropical forests, Lamb iden-tifies the desirability of networks ofpeople within the region who havethe capacity to actively explore andtest new methods of restoration. Theset of desirable skills and capacityare not explicitly identified, but itwould be worth using the opportu-nity to promote an Australian systemof restoration which contrasts withtraditional forestry, landscaping andweed-management-by-machete tech-niques in widespread usage. Termed‘‘bush regeneration,’’ the methodshave evolved from a grassroots originwith a philosophical base (Bradley2002). Only loosely defined andpoorly documented in the formallypublished literature (but see, forinstance, Peel 2010), bush regenera-tion has yet to effectively reconcilewith ecological theory and submitto rigorous long-term evaluation.Novel techniques with much poten-tial, however, are found within bushregeneration methods; they involveskilled mechanical and hand weed-ing techniques, with or withouthighly targeted herbicide use, inforest environments which requiremanipulation to unblock or acceler-ate succession.

More than anything, this timelybook illustrates the complexity ofthe task of avoiding forest degra-dation and efficiently guiding thereforestation process. Lamb conveysa central message: effective restora-tion requires not only locally relevanttechnical and ecological expertise,but critically also social, economicand institutional infrastructure. Hisbook, liberally illustrated with

graphic diagrams, occasional black-and-white photographs and sum-mary statistics from the literature,condenses a full and varied work-ing life of research and experience.It constitutes a valuable reference forresearchers while retaining a layoutand style encouraging of access to abroader readership. Lamb has pro-duced just the tool required to facili-tate achievement of the restored andfunctioning forest and social land-scape he envisages.

The challenge for the future will bethe additional information requiredto keep pace with the changing pri-orities of new markets while concur-rently solving present problems. Yetmuch of the contents of this bookwill not date. This volume will bea classic reference to be highly val-ued by a wide range of players inthe field.

Barbara StewartLandmark Ecological Services Pty Ltd, Suf-folk Park, New South Wales, Australia.E-mail: barbara.stewart@landmarkonline.com.au

LITERATURE CITED

Bradley, J. 2002. Bringing Back the Bush: The BradleyMethod of Bush Regeneration. New Holland,Australia.

Peel, B. 2010. Rainforest Restoration Manual forSouth-Eastern Australia. CSIRO Publishing,Collingwood, Australia.

Sayer, J. 2011. Book review: Lamb David. Regreen-ing the Bare Hills: Tropical Forest Restora-tion in the Asia Pacific Region. Springer,Dordrecht, Heidelberg, London and NewYork. Pp 1–547, 2011. Tropical Conser-vation Science 4:111–112. Available from:www.tropicalconservationscience.org.

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