As a forester interested in economics and policy, Daowei Zhang followed the softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada for nearly 20 years. Dubbed the 'Softwood Lumber War,' the conflict enveloped politicians and business leaders on both sides of the border and placed strains on the historically close economic and political relations between the two countries. This book is an unprecedentedly detailed evaluation of how the conflict began and how it was sustained for such a long period of time. The book considers the implications that may follow from the 2006 agreement between the nations, and the broader lessons that might be learned about international trade conflicts. The early 1980s was a difficult time for U.S. lumber producers. Finding their domestic market share in decline, they requested restrictions on Canadian lumber imports. Alleging that the Canadian producers were being subsidized, they eventually secured a 15 percent export tax on Canadian lumber in 1986. A long series of trade battles followed against a background of shortages in the U.S. timber supply, changing international markets, and the establishment of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization. Canada and the United States are the world's largest trading partners, but, as Zhang demonstrates, it is a relationship in which domestic pressure groups, different institutional structures within each government, and differences in the relative economic power of each country remain extremely important determinants of foreign policy. The fact that the softwood lumber dispute has taken so long to resolve-and the prospect that the 2006 agreement has the potential to be undone by continuing litigation and trade friction-raise important questions about international relations in a world that is supposedly moving toward free trade.

As a forester interested in economics and policy, Daowei Zhang followed the softwood lumber dispute between the U.S. and Canada for nearly 20 years. Dubbed the 'Softwood Lumber War,' the conflict enveloped politicians and business leaders on both sides of the border and placed strains on the historically close economic and political relations between the two countries. This book is an unprecedentedly detailed evaluation of how the conflict began and how it was sustained for such a long period of time. The book considers the implications that may follow from the 2006 agreement between the nations, and the broader lessons that might be learned about international trade conflicts. The early 1980s was a difficult time for U.S. lumber producers. Finding their domestic market share in decline, they requested restrictions on Canadian lumber imports. Alleging that the Canadian producers were being subsidized, they eventually secured a 15 percent export tax on Canadian lumber in 1986. A long series of trade battles followed against a background of shortages in the U.S. timber supply, changing international markets, and the establishment of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization. Canada and the United States are the world's largest trading partners, but, as Zhang demonstrates, it is a relationship in which domestic pressure groups, different institutional structures within each government, and differences in the relative economic power of each country remain extremely important determinants of foreign policy. The fact that the softwood lumber dispute has taken so long to resolve-and the prospect that the 2006 agreement has the potential to be undone by continuing litigation and trade friction-raise important questions about international relations in a world that is supposedly moving toward free trade.

There is a great concern about the sustainability of forestry and the contribution of private forestry towards this aim. It is therefore important to develop effective policies to support or shape private forestry This book includes a selection of revised papers from a conference held in Atlanta in March 2001. The main subjects covered include: the emergence of a new paradigm for public involvement in private forestry; the challenges of sustainability; certification programmes; country experiences from the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia.

Forestry cannot be isolated from the forces that drive all economic
activity. It involves using land, labour, and capital to produce goods
and services from forests, while economics helps in understanding how
this can be done in ways that will best meet the needs of people.
Therefore, a firm grounding in economics is integral to sound forestry
policies and practices.

This book, a major revision and expansion of Peter H. Pearse's
1990 classic, provides this grounding. Updated and enhanced with
advanced empirical presentation of materials, it covers the basic
economic principles and concepts and their application to modern forest
management and policy issues. Topics range from valuation of forest
investments and unpriced forest goods and services to property rights,
taxation, and global issues of forests and the environment. Review
questions and suggestions for further readings appear at the end of
each chapter.

Forest Economics draws on the strengths of two of the
field's leading practitioners who have more than fifty years of
combined experience in teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in
forest economics in the United States and Canada. Its comprehensive and
systematic analysis of forest issues makes it an indispensable resource
for students and practitioners of forest management, natural resource
conservation, and environmental studies.

Daowei Zhang is a professor of forest economics
and policy in the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences at Auburn
University. Peter H. Pearse is a professor emeritus at
the University of British Columbia, a forester RPF (Ret), and a member
of the Order of Canada.