Student: Gabe Kohler
Graduation date: May 2015
Type: Concentration (single major)
Date approved: November 2013
Summary
Forestry is the management of planting and cutting trees within forest systems (Perry 1998). In many so-called “developed” countries, forests are in a state of transition from being controlled by purely industrial regimes, which prioritize mass production of timber, to being controlled by regimes that incorporate the different interests and objectives of other actors and institutions (Anderson 1998). In the timber economies of some post-industrial countries, incorporating the objectives of different direct or indirect regulation, like the incorporation of the EPA’s agenda to conserve in the United States, reduces or removes the strict emphasis on timber production (Mather 1991)(Koch 1991). Spanning both scientific and social realms, forestry incorporates the complex interplay between the quantifiable economic benefits of harvesting timber, and other possible benefits that can arise from changing either the scale or practice of timber extraction (Costanza 1997). The interactions between the various agents and institutions involved in the forestry industry, range from global institutions like the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), to smaller local groups like the Oregon Forest Resources institute. These institutions make up the local and global network of political economy, technology, and participation within large-scale commodity chains (McCarthy 2006). The industrial era as a whole, characterized by resource extraction and mass production, was primarily concerned with the market price of timber. In the nascent post-industrial moment, a broader range of social, economic, and environmental objectives can be reached through the use of alternative extraction strategies. This shift in forestry practices is a symptom of a larger shift from the industrial moment to the post-industrial moment (Huber 1984) (Bell 1976). My concentration is situated around forestry in these post-industrial countries, and uses the broader themes of forestry, political economy, and resource extraction to understand complexities and contradictions within this field. While the themes of forestry and resource extraction are implicit, almost by definition, to my study of forestry, the theme of political economy will also be necessary to help me address complexities within the global timber trade and give me perspective on how interaction between agents and institutions in the field of forestry has an effect on the market.
One possible way to situate post-industrial forestry would be in the context of the twentieth century British timber industry. The movement of forestry practices in Britain during the twentieth century provides a good example of the transition from industrial to post-industrial production and management (Mather 1991)(Milbourne 2008). British forestry practices began accelerated industrial production after experiencing timber shortages during WWI. In the era before WWI, Laissez faire policies disincentivized the production of internal timber, leading to less wooded area, and an increase in timber imports. Starting a large campaign of afforestation in 1919, regulated by the Forestry Commission, Britain increased its internal timber resources to 5 million acres in the next 50 years. The 1980 policy statement loosely stated that timber production would continue at the same rate. Eventually the goal was given a more precise definition of 30,000 hectares of forested land. Though these goals were not met during the 1980’s, they served as signals for the characteristic industrial expansion that occurred during the twentieth century. Practices implemented during this period were conducted for the sake of high yields of timber output, and are characteristic of industrial forestry practices. When a 1972 study revealed that continued expansion could not be justified in terms of economic return on timber investments, expansionary practices began to be called into question, especially on marginal lands. Objectives in forestry began to change from prioritizing high timber yields to incorporating other forestry objectives. During the subsequent years, tax advantages that previously stimulated afforestation, began to favor other types of extraction methods, and accommodated various objectives to forestry that were not based on “timber primacy.”(Quine 2013) These tax policies signaled a movement towards service oriented industries rather than the resource intensive manufacturing industries that were previously prioritized for ship building and other industry. An emphasis on the service sector, and development of technology, is characteristic of a post-industrial country, and as Britain embraced different tax structures, and the subsequent forestry practices that ensued, they also embraced post-industrialism.
The Japanese have always had widespread uses for timber, and until 1950, wood was the primary fuel in Japan (Iwamoto 2002). Japan went through a period similar to the British industrial era where they expanded their forest resources through plantation forestry. Since the end of WWII and the expansion that preceded it, Japan has changed its timber supply from primarily internal plantation timber, to almost completely imported timber. Since the price of hiring labor to cut the trees became higher than the cost of importing timber, entire plantations of trees have been left standing, and have made Japan simultaneously the largest importer of timber, and one of the most heavily forested nations in the world (Totman 1989). The very forces that lead to Japan being a player on the global market, resource extraction, have lead to their ability to import and leave their resources intact. The service sector in Japan, known as a global leader in computer technology, took the place of timber-exporting, and is characteristic of a post-industrial society.
Bell, Daniel. “The coming of the post-industrial society.” In The Educational Forum, vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 574-579. Taylor & Francis Group, 1976.
Costanza, Robert, Ralph d’Arge, Rudolf De Groot, Stephen Farber, Monica Grasso, Bruce Hannon, Karin Limburg et al. “The value of the world’s ecosystem services and natural capital.” nature 387, no. 6630 (1997): 253-260.
Huber, George P. “The nature and design of post-industrial organizations.” Management Science 30, no. 8 (1984): 928-951.
Iwamoto, Junichi. “The development of Japanese forestry.” Forestry and the forest industry in Japan (2002): 3-9.
Koch, Niels Elers, and James J. Kennedy. “Multiple-use forestry for social values.” Ambio 20, no. 7 (1991): 330-333.
Mather, Alexander S. “Pressures on British forest policy: prologue to the post-industrial forest?.” Area (1991): 245-253.
McCarthy, James. “Neoliberalism and the politics of alternatives: Community forestry in British Columbia and the United States.” Annals of the Association of American Geographers 96, no. 1 (2006): 84-104.
Milbourne, Paul, Terry Marsden, and Lawrence Kitchen. “Scaling Post‐Industrial Forestry: The Complex Implementation of National Forestry Regimes in the Southern Valleys of Wales.” Antipode 40, no. 4 (2008): 612-631.
Perry, David A. “The scientific basis of forestry.” Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics (1998): 435-466.
Quine, Christopher P., Sallie A. Bailey, and Kevin Watts. “Sustainable forest management in a time of ecosystem services frameworks: common ground and consequences.” Journal of Applied Ecology (2013).
Totman, Conrad. “The green archipelago: forestry in preindustrial Japan.” The green archipelago: forestry in preindustrial Japan. (1998).
Questions
- Descriptive: What are the key differences between industrial and post-industrial economies, and how do they map onto various regions and countries of the world? What is the role of industrial practices in post-industrial countries? What has changed and what has remained the same in global patterns of resource import and export as regions and countries transition to more post-industrial economies ? Are labor practices different between industrial and post-industrial countries? What are the similarities and differences between forestry practices in industrial regions and countries and post-industrial regions and countries? Since post-industrial economies generally prioritize amenities and aesthetics to a greater extent than in industrial countries, what effect does this have on forestry practices in post-industrial economies?
- Explanatory: To what extent do the popular opinions among different environmental movements and movements in timber communities influence forestry practices? How does this differ between industrial and post-industrial countries? How has the advent of neoliberalism in the last three decades affected post-industrial economies? How does this affect the practices in forestry?
- Evaluative: From a biodiversity and conservation perspective what are the positive and negative outcomes in forests that result from the switch to post-industrialism?
Concentration courses
- IS-241 (Japan Past and Present, 4 credits), spring 2014. This class will help me understand the stages that Japan went through in its development
- Econ-255-F1(Technology, Institutions, Economic growth, 4 credits), spring 2014. This class will help me better understand the demographic transition, and how developing countries accumulate capital for use in the global market.
- IA-257 (Global Resource Dilemmas, 4 credits), spring 2013. This class helped me understand the complexities of the global market, and how resources are extracted differently in various parts of the world.
- ENVS-499 (Independent Study, 4 credits), spring 2014. I want to do a more in-depth study of the field of forestry, including an exploration of the Oregon timber industry.
Arts and humanities courses
- HIST 261 (Global Environmental History, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.
- PHIL 215 (Philosophy and the Environment, 4 credits). Pre-approved A&H course; no justification required.