In the limited scope of this book I wish to present a brief review of the progressive destruction of nature, particularly in the domain of animal life, and at the same time to ill- trate some of the possibilities by BIII:- Ion-.--------------, which man can prevent this de- 3 ~----------~f_4 struction. As the mightiest creation of na- 2,51-______ a _ ___ ~L...-_j ture, man extends his influence into all of nature's provinces and in- 2 1--- - -------1---; habits all zones of the earth. ,,51----------1'------1 Civilization and technology, ulti- mate consequences of his unique 1 cerebral development, have pro- moted man to this position of O~>,I,.,oo-="'------------I power. An enormous population increase in recent centuries has 1850 1100 1700 1800 1BIIO 1800 .110.2000 made him one of the most numer- An ous of all animal forms. A com- h parison of the alarming climb of 5 earth's population curve (Fig. la) - ",0 with the graphical representation r-- of exterminated animal species 30 r- (Fig. Ib) establishes a striking conformity. The steeper the human 20 r-- population curve climbs, the higher 10- stretch the bars representing the h -r-- number of exterminated animal 1650 1700 17150 1800 18SO 1900 19SO 2000 species.

Is it possible to sustain biological diversity in managed forests? Or should biodiversity strategies focus solely on reserves and protected areas? A group of well-known scientists specializing in forestry issues apply scientific expertise to the “hot politics” of the forestry debate and present compelling evidence as to the sustainability of biological diversity in managed forests.