Jack Westoby - An extraordinary forester
Introduction to world forestry. J. Westoby. 1989. Oxford, Basil Blackwell
No-one who met Jack Westoby could easily forget him or his manner of saying what he wanted to in a penetrating, often blunt, and always unforgettable way. He came to forestry in 1952 from an already well-established career as a statistician and economist with the UK Board of Trade. For this reason, he liked to describe himself as "a forester by absorption", or sometimes as the non-forester who, more than any other in the world, enjoyed the widest and most intimate knowledge of foresters.
From his post with the Forestry Department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Jack led the Department's endeavours to help Third World countries harness their forests for socioeconomic development. He may not have invented social forestry but, at the time of his death in 1988, following a long illness, he had certainly established himself as its most articulate advocate. That reputation can only be further strengthened by this book, completed shortly before his death.
An Introduction to world forestry starts out as a basic treatise on the properties of trees, wood and forests. In the chapters that follow, however, Westoby departs radically from the accepted notion of a formal textbook and takes the reader on an absorbing tour of the history of interaction between trees and humans, from pre-Roman times to the present. Throughout, the text is a mixture of basic facts and figures on world forestry, interspersed with Westoby's characteristic analysis of the social, economic and political forces that have shaped and continue to shape world forestry today, especially in the Third World.
Westoby argues that it is not demographic pressure as such that threatens the world's forests, but rather the rapidity of population changes, particularly the increasing number of landless, the shifted rather than the shifting cultivators, Westoby calls them. "It is social relations, not simply the pressure of numbers, which is destroying the tropical forests," he writes.
"In most Third World countries, political power rests in the hands of people more interested in facilitating exploitation than controlling it," he continues.
Westoby also points to negative impacts on forestry resources of well-meaning but misguided policies, citing the 3.4 million hectares of forest land cleared in India during the "green revolution".
Nor are the developed countries without their share of the blame. Says Westoby, "It is the support of first world countries which keep in existence those third world regimes whose resource-destructive policies are responsible for contemporary tropical deforestation."
One answer to the problem, says Westoby, is the development of sound forestry policies, the lack of which in many countries has made forestry "the Cinderella of government departments, with no assurance that activities begun today will be funded or continued tomorrow". According to Westoby, too many existing forestry and conservation policies consist of "pious aspirations", rather than being a set of specific targets linked to declared social objectives and accompanied by detailed programmes. "A clear forest policy is one condition of truly social forestry," he says.
Even though the book is dedicated to "three generations of foresters who taught me all I know about forestry", Westoby does not exclude foresters from his criticisms.
JACK WESTOBY described himself as "a forester by absorption"
Foresters, says Westoby, have served their masters too conscientiously, and have "far too often tamely done as they have been told, and have remained gagged". To remedy the situation, he says, the voices of foresters and of environmentalists should sound in unison, "and their professional organizations should protect members with the courage to denounce antisocial resource policies".
As a comprehensive coverage of world forestry, the book falls far short. Relatively little is said about Africa or Latin America, and forests and forestry in North America are barely touched upon. In spite of this, however, the book is recommended to anyone interested in international forestry.
One does not read Westoby for detailed fact, but for insights, ideas and conclusions. For this, the best part of the book is an altogether too short Part V "Making trees serve people" which, according to Westoby, "reflects my own experience, first as an officer of FAO (from 1952 to 1974) dealing with forestry policy and aid in many parts of the world, and subsequently as an individual continuing to think and write about forestry problems".
In this final section Westoby touches on the issues of social forestry, agroforestry, people's involvement in forestry, forestry aid and the profession of forestry. The concluding words of Westoby's last book (and perhaps a fitting epitaph to his life and work) are, "All forestry should be social".
Setting the book aside, a strong impression remains of Jack Westoby, the blunt common sense he could marshall so well, and his unwavering belief in our collective ability to resolve the urgent world problems that find expression in our relationship with forests.
R.P. and E.B.
Managing wilderness resources
Wildlands: their protection and management in economic development. G. Ledec T. Good and. 1988. Washington, D.C., World Bank.
The increasing pressure on the remaining wildlands in the developing world and the urgent need for decisions regarding their role in sustainable development, make this publication by the World Bank important and opportune, particularly in view of the involvement of the Bank in many important development projects that affect wildlands.
The premise of Wildlands is that natural areas relatively untouched by human activities can contribute significantly to economic development in their natural state. It is intended to show how wildlands can be managed to make development projects and plans more successful and sustainable, and to clarify the issues involved in designing wildland components of and thereby facilitate their implementation by development organizations. The publication is directed to professionals from government and development agencies, non-governmental organizations and others concerned with conservation and development throughout the world.
The first three chapters of the book set out the importance of wildlands for sustainable development and describe the involvement of the World Bank in projects with wildland management components. Reference is made to a number of cases from developing countries in which wildland management components of development projects provided economic and environmental advantages at little additional cost (further details on selected projects are provided in Appendix A).
Chapter IV provides a particularly valuable analysis of the hows and whys of incorporating wildland management components in development projects focusing on agriculture and land settlement, livestock, fisheries, forestry, highway and rural roads, water development, industry, institution building, training, education and research.
WILDLANDS ARE IMPORTANT for sustainable development
Chapter V complements this analysis with a description of how development projects that do not specifically involve wildlands can provide indirect but significant beneficial effects to wildlands management efforts. The authors refer to World Bank-assisted projects that have had a positive impact on wildlands through increased utilization of already converted areas, ensuring sustainable use of resources, management for biological diversity and assistance to local people.
The following chapter on wildland management in economic and sector planning stresses the need for the inclusion of wildland management concerns in policy documents and agreements between governments and international agencies, and recommends the incorporation of wildland management training in the curricula of national and international development training institutions.
Chapter VII briefly raises a number of points concerning the economic analysis of wildland management. The difficulties that complicate economic cost-benefit analysis of this sector, and a brief description of several possible approaches are included. However, given the considerable expertise of the Bank in this area, and its relative importance, one would have hoped for a more in-depth treatment of the subject.
The final chapter in the main text deals with the potential benefits to people who live within wildlands or near their borders. The chapter takes a pragmatic approach, pointing out potential areas of conflict, and making suggestions based on practical experience to show how these conflicts can be minimized and more benefits directed to the local people.
The main text is complemented by ten appendixes on topics related to wildland management, and an extensive bibliography that is marred only in that it is essentially limited to English-language references.
Nonetheless, the global perspective on wildland management offered by Wildlands is a welcome addition to the literature; the fact that it has been published under the auspices of an organization with such a significant amount of experience in the field adds to its credibility.
K. Thelen
The FAO watershed management field manual
In the early 1980s the Forest Resources Division of FAO's Forestry Department initiated an ambitious project to publish an eight-volume field manual on watershed management as part of the Conservation Guide series. The two latest editions to the manual are reviewed below.
Landslide prevention measures. H. Marui. 1988. FAO Watershed management field manual. FAO Conservation Guide 1314. Rome, FAO.
Landslide prevention measures.
Given its extremely complex subject, this is probably the volume of the FAO Watershed management field manual with which foresters will have most difficulties. The intention of the publication is not to give the false impression that landslides are easy to deal with, but rather to emphasize that the role of foresters should be to avoid landslide occurrence wherever possible through appropriate preventive land management.
The book will assist foresters, agronomists, engineers and other land managers in identifying and classifying landslide phenomena. A land movement may be so slow initially that it takes careful measurements and monitoring to determine when in fact a landslide has started. Classification of landslides, on the other hand, is important because the prevention and treatment of a deep-seated slide is completely different from that required for a shallow one.
The manual advances in a logical sequence through chapters on basic principles, criteria for avoidance of unstable slopes, investigation and forecasting methods, slope stability analysis, mechanical prevention and stabilization measures, and finally vegetative prevention and stabilization measures.
Landslide specialists will find the book useful because of the wealth of illustrations and formulas. For the non-specialist these will be of some assistance, but in many cases they will be more of a warning not to start tampering with something too big and dangerous to handle.
Rood design and construction in sensitive watersheds. FAO. 1989. FAO Watershed management field manual. FAO Conservation Guide 1315. Rome, FAO.
This volume of the FAO Watershed management field manual is at the same time a practical guide for the field project officer and a reference textbook, useful for training purposes at technical and professional levels.
The publication addresses an important and often controversial issue. For some people road construction, even in mountain watershed areas, is still synonymous with "progress", and therefore the more kilometres of road a project can squeeze out of its budget the better. On the other hand, for those concerned with upland conservation and watershed management, the road represents a challenge: how to avoid the new road becoming a major source of sediment and concentrated water flow, thereby defeating the main objective of the project. It is for those concerned upland managers and engineers that this volume has been written.
The recommendations and specifications in the book will give fewer kilometres of road for the money but the road will demand less maintenance, will not need major repairs after every shower and, most important, will not be the cause of landslides, gullies, and concentrated runoff.
With the help of this publication it should be possible to enter into a constructive dialogue with local authorities, watershed populations and funding agencies and convince them that a well-aligned and constructed road will not only be safer and more convenient to use, but also, in the long run, prove more economical in direct maintenance costs and environmental damages.
For the road engineer used to working on more gentle terrain, the manual will provide an invaluable guide to the special considerations necessary in mountain topography: how to economize during the alignment stage; the optimal balance between cut and fill slope; special requirements for drainage, etc.
The publication contains 122 figures, most of which can be used directly for making transparencies for the overhead projector.
With the addition of these two volumes, the status of the FAO Watershed management field manual is as follows:
13/1 - Vegetation and soil treatment measures. 1985. Published in English, French and Spanish. English version now out of print.
13/2 - Gully control. 1986. Published in English. Being prepared for publication in Spanish.
13/3 - Slope treatment measures and practices. 1988. Published in English and Spanish.
13/4 - Landslide prevention measures. 1988. Published in English.
13/5 - Road design and construction in sensitive watersheds. 1989. Published in English. Being prepared for publication in Spanish.
13/6 - Watershed surrey and planning. To be published in English in 1990.
1317 - Water harvesting. Text in preparation.
13/8 - Torrent control. Deleted from the FAO Conservation Guide series and published as a priced publication in Spanish in 1988. English and French versions in preparation.
As the manual moves toward completion, changes in current practices and developments may justify a revision rather than a direct translation in the case of the language editions. Comments and suggestions from readers are welcome.
Wood preservation in the Andean Pact countries
Manual del Grupo Andino para la preservación de maderas. Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena. 1988. Lima, Peru. 360 pp.
This publication is directed at wood industry technicians, builders, architects, engineers, university students and all others with an interest in the concepts and basic methods of wood preservation. The manual does not pretend to offer an exhaustive set of scientific-technical solutions; rather it sets out in a clear and concise manner the principal criteria that must be taken into consideration in order to extend the useful life of industrial wood products.
The manual is divided into 12 chapters, each covering a fundamental aspect of wood preservation: vegetable and animal wood-destroying agents factors affecting the natural durability of wood; effective and appropriate preservation agent pre-preservation techniques; preservation methods; quality control; treatment methods for recently harvested wood; preservation of completed constructions; external protection measures (e.g. shellacs, varnishes, etc.); preservation equipment; the incorporation of protection considerations into overall construction plans; and finally a panorama of the current state of wood preservation technology and practice in the Andean pact countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)
The overall intent of the manual is to provide a complete guide, at both the theoretical and practical level, to the treatment of wood products in order to permit optimal use of this raw material in the construction sector. In this regard, the authors note with concern in the introduction that "the term construction tends to bring to mind bricks, steel and cement; even in the more remote areas of the Andean region it is common to find enormous effort being spent to transport these materials to sites in the middle of forested areas.
This clearly indicates a lack of confidence in the use of wood for construction. This is at least in part motivated by the lack of knowledge about existing techniques which could be used to greatly prolong the durability of wood under many forms of use."
Each chapter contains an extensive bibliography and, throughout the book, margin notes help to reinforce key points, a particularly useful addition. Furthermore, the basic text is supported by numerous photographs, drawings, text boxes, etc. The manual concludes with an annex containing a glossary of terms relating to wood preservation, of significant value in helping to ensure a precise understanding of the concepts advanced in the text.
CONTROL OF INSECT PESTS is crucial in wood preservation
The Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena notes its intention to revise subsequent editions of the text as necessary and invites comments and suggestions from readers. Those interested in such a dialogue can write to: Junta del Acuerdo de Cartagena, Paseo de la República 3895, San Isidro, Casilla Postal 18-1177, Lima 18 (Perú).
G. Gomez
In situ conservation of plant genetic resources
Plant genetic resources: their conservation in situ for human use.
Genetic variation, accumulated in all living organisms on earth during some 3000 million years of evolution, constitutes the biological wealth of our planet. This diversity provides a buffer against environmental changes and is thus essential for maintaining the stability and biological balance of the biosphere.
In addition to enabling wild species to adapt to changes in climate, soil and other environmental influences (including pests and diseases), genes from the wild are needed to permit the manipulation of domesticated plant species to respond to changing socioeconomic needs. Further domestication and long-term use of forest trees as well as the current major food crops and others yet to be identified are dependent on the availability of genetic variation from which new varieties can be developed through selection and breeding. Increased genetic knowledge and technologies such as genetic engineering may provide new possibilities of utilizing genetic materials from a great variety of species to improve cultivated plants.
Foresters are in a key position to help ensure the conservation and wise use of natural renewable resources. The forests and woodlands are the world's greatest repository of genetic resources, both woody species and - especially in the moist and seasonal tropics and in many areas of the subtropics - a wealth of other species of actual or potential socio-economic value. Therefore foresters have a clear responsibility to develop and implement management strategies that prevent the depletion or destruction of natural areas and the genetic diversity they contain. Fortunately, genetic resources are a renewable resource; their sustained and careful use is generally compatible with their conservation.
FAO, in collaboration with Unesco, UNEP and IUCN, has recently published a booklet entitled Plant genetic resources: their conservation in situ for human use. Drawing on the FAO Forestry Department's long-standing experience in the field of genetic resource conservation, ongoing field projects, and case-studies provided by institutes and individual scientists from eight developing countries, the booklet aims at illustrating to decision-makers and the public at large, the long- and short-term benefits attainable through conservation. It stresses the need to include ecosystem and genetic resource conservation as integral parts of short-, medium-, and long-term development programmes, and concludes that the key to success lies in harmonizing conservation with sustainable use and management. The booklet also reviews the relationship between in situ conservation of plants and animals and the already existing worldwide network of protected areas; and between in situ conservation and the management of renewable natural resources for the provision of goods and services.
The booklet is complemented by a fold-out leaflet, In situ conservation: conserving plant genetic resources in situ to meet today's and tomorrow's needs. The leaflet briefly explains the nature, reasons and methodologies of in situ conservation.
The booklet, Plant genetic resources: their conservation in situ for human use is available from the FAO Distribution and Sales Section and from FAO authorized sales agents; the leaflet, In situ conservation: conserving plant genetic resources in situ to meet today's and tomorrow's needs, is available from the FAO Forest Resources Division, Rome, Italy.
Arid zone forestry: A guide
Arid zone forestry: a guide for field technicians. FAO. 1989. FAO Conservation Guide No. 20. 143 pp.
Arid zone forestry: A guide for field technicians.
This manual is an illustrated working guide for field technicians involved in arid zone forestry. It is organized in ten sections covering a general description of the arid environment; the function and place of trees and shrubs in arid zones; techniques of nursery operations in arid regions; techniques for the establishment and management of forest plantations; special forest plantations; irrigated forest plantations; rehabilitation of saline environment; non-wood forest products; the involvement of local people; and tree and shrub species for arid zone forestry.
The manual is more of a "here's how" publication than a detailed explanation of the theory and practice of forestry. The organization of the manual is intended to enable forestry technicians to keep abreast of technological progress; develop their ability to implement interventions outside the traditional "forest domain"; and diversify their role within the frame of an integrated land use approach. It is also expected that forestry instructors in the arid region will find this manual useful for training field technicians and for supporting new training initiatives for forestry technical personnel.
Understanding wood variation
Wood variation - its cause and control. B.J. Zobel & J.P. van Boytenen. 1989. Heidelberg, Springer-Verlag. 98 figures. 353 pp.
Wood is a highly variable substance with differences occurring among species and genera, among geographic sources within a species and among trees within a geographic source as well as within each individual tree. Tree-to-tree variability is especially large, with differences within a species often under strong genetic influence.
In order to produce and use wood efficiently, variation patterns and their causes and means of control must be understood by the tree grower, the tree breeder and the tree harvester, as well as by those who ultimately convert wood into a final, saleable product. This book takes the vast amount of information available on wood variation and sorts it out, categorizes it, and then summarizes the main concepts and trends in a manner appropriate both for the wood utilization specialist and the practicing general forester. It summarizes results of methods to produce more valuable wood in forestry practice. Both solid wood and fibre products are included in the discussions.
The introductory chapter provides a clear description of the main wood properties and their relationship to morphological and chemical wood characteristics, and answers basic questions such as, "what characteristics determine wood specific gravity?" Several aspects of the physiology of wood formation are also discussed, with emphasis on the mechanisms responsible for wood variation and the factors controlling wood properties.
The following chapter deals with the effect of provenance variation and exotic plantation on wood properties. Geographic patterns of variation and wood properties of trees grown as exotics are reviewed for a number of species and groups of species. The complex relationship between environment and genetics with regard to control of wood properties is also discussed and clarified to the extent possible.
Variation within and among trees of a single species is studied in Chapter 3. Within-tree variation is covered in detail as a key to the understanding of later chapters in the book.
In Chapter 4, wood property variation is discussed in relation to tree form and reaction wood. Wood properties associated with poor tree form are reviewed. In the discussion on reaction wood, emphasis is placed on its importance and effect upon wood variation. The chapter also covers the potential of improvement of tree form through genetics and silviculture.
Chapter 5 deals with the effect of growth rate on wood properties, especially on wood specific gravity. The cases of conifers and hardwoods are reviewed separately. The effect of growth rate on cell characteristics and aesthetic qualities of wood are also discussed.
Chapter 6 analyses the wood properties affected by environmental, biological and other external agents. Environmental factors include climate, soil and overall site as well as the influences of the trees on one another within forest stands. The major trends relating moisture availability to wood properties are also described. Short descriptions are given of a wide range of pest and disease that can alter wood.
Chapter 7 describes the effect of silvicultural practices on wood properties, particularly fertilization, tree spacing, pruning, planting techniques, and other practices such as resin taffing and resin induction. This chapter also examines the wood properties of coppice and root sprouts.
Chapter 8 is a particularly informative discussion of the control of wood properties by breeding. The chapter begins with a theoretical discussion of the genetics of wood properties, followed by an analysis of the information available on variation and inheritance for wood specific gravity and other properties; and a practical part explaining available breeding methods for obtaining productive genetic gains.
The final chapter considers the future orientations of the wood market and industry and the importance of more fully understanding and manipulating wood variability to produce more and more valuable wood in forestry practice.
The authors have succeeded in making the book both easy to read and highly informative. The scientific basis of wood anatomy, wood technology and tree breeding is introduced as simply as possible and developed in a logical sequence as the book proceeds. Although the book is much more than a literature review, it contains references to more than 1100 works; the reader will find frequent summaries, in the form of tables, of the most relevant literature for the main subjects of discussion. The book is recommended as reference to both the practicing forester and the wood utilization specialist. It could also be used as a textbook in forestry and wood science programmes.
C. Cossalter
