It uses historical evidence to show that individuals and communities act to manage resources sustainably for a number of reasons including economic benefit, religious or symbolic purposes, and that sustainability of the management system depends on the form of control exerted over the resource.
List of Maps - List of Tables - Introduction - Forests in China - Forest Stability and Decline: A Delicate Balance - The Mulan Weichang Imperial Hunting Enclosure - Temple and Monastic Forests - Clans, Communities, and Commons - Trees in Agricultural Systems - Beyond Timber: Fuelwood, Sericulture, and Fungi - In the Depths of the Mountains: Logging the Old Growth - Discussion and Conclusions - Appendix - References - Index
Joseph Needham, Christian Daniels, Nicholas K. Menzies, Joseph (University of Cambridge) Needham, Christian (Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) Daniels, Beijing) Menzies, Nicholas K. (Ford Foundation, Nicholas K Menzies