Tim Lehman examines the political battles over public policies to protect farmland from urban sprawl. His detailed account clarifies three larger themes: the ongoing struggle over land use planning in this country, the emerging environmental critique of m

At a time when pollution, urban sprawl, and condo booms are leading municipal governments to adopt prescriptive laws and regulations, this book lays the groundwork for a more informed debate between those trying to preserve private property rights and those trying to assert public interests. Rather than asking whether community interests should prevail over the rights of private property owners, Public Interest, Private Property delves into the heart of the argument to ask key questions. Under what conditions should public interests take precedence? And when they do, in what manner should they be limited? Drawing on case studies from across Canada, the contributors examine the tensions surrounding expropriation, smart growth, tree bylaws, green development, and municipal water provision. They also explore frustrations arising from the perceived loss of procedural rights in urban-planning decision making, the absence of a clear definition of “public interest,” and the ambiguity surrounding the controls property owners have within a public-planning system.

Understand the social, economic, and environmental impacts of the development of forest plantationsand the conservation involved Controversy surrounds the question of how to best protect forests of high conservation value, while meeting the growing demands for wood and wood fiber-based products. Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry presents the views of a diverse group of conservationists and natural resource professionals who examine important social and economic as well as ecological aspects of the debate. The goal of sustainable forest management is kept at the forefront of the discussions, while alternative strategies to meet economic and social needs are explored in light of the need to conserve biological diversity and protect other important ecological services and environmental values in key forest areas. For developed nations, there is an ethical responsibility to consider sensible development as well as environmental conservation. Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry discusses many of the prominent issues that are raised when considering intensively managed forests (plantations) and/or strict protection of high conservation value forests (protected areas) in the United States and elsewhere. These issues include: the role of plantations and their management; forest management certification to ensure sustainability; job creation from plantations, the effects of intensive forest management on society and the environment; and the protection of biodiversity. This book provides a solid foundation on which to form a consensus that addresses the needs of economics and society as well as forest conservation. Topics in Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry include: the future of forest plantations forest management certification community benefits derived from intensively managed industrial roundwood plantations the extent to which intensive forest management practices on plantations prevent degradation of natural forests positive and negative impacts of plantations on environmental and social values alternative approaches for investment in wood production global policy perspectives on intensive forest production global strategies for biodiversity conservation Plantations and Protected Areas in Sustainable Forestry provides a diversity of perspectives on one of today’s most important developments in international forest policy and international trade in the forest sector. It is intended to contribute to better-informed decision-making, and is an important book for policymakers, forest resource management professionals, and business leaders working to develop practical and effective strategies for sustainable forest management.