Maintaining Whole Systems on Earth's Crown: Ecosystem-Based Conservation Planning for the Boreal Forest, by Herb Hammond. Published by Silva Forest Foundation, Slocan Park, BC, www.silvafor.org; Distributed by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, BC, www.newsociety.com; 402 pgs, soft cover, $49.95; ISBN 978-0-9734779-0-0
There are so many important and interesting concepts in this book that a review limited to 650 words cannot do it justice.The best I can hope is inspire you to buy, borrow (ask your local library to get a copy or two), or beg a copy. Whether your interest is land use planning or community or organization enrichment, you will find this book immensely useful.
I have no doubt that this is an important book – particularly because of its utilitarian handbook format. Every school and college from secondary on up should invest in at least one copy. The author says, "While the book uses boreal forest examples, it applies to all forests and many other planning situations."
What is ecosystem-based conservation planning? How does it differ from conventional land- and resource-use planning? Who benefits? (The short answer to that last question is: everyone and everything on the planet.) The author says the book is "…for First Nations, other rural communities, activists, and other people who want to know the philosophy, principles, and planning process behind ecosystem-based conservation planning (EBCP)."
Designed in parts as a workbook, a main goal is "to help people understand what real EBCP is and provide a means to evaluate plans that are presented as ecosystem-based." EBCP means "relating to and using the ecosystems we are part of in ways that ensure the protection, maintenance, and, where necessary, restoration of biological diversity from the genetic and species levels to the community and landscape levels. An EBCP perspective works at all scales, from the microscopic to the global. The priorities that guide ecosystem-based use of land and water focus first on what to protect, and then on what to use." EBCP is "rooted in the holism of Indigenous land ethics and supported by leading-edge scientific research and thinking."
Regardless of your level of experience in ecosystem-based planning, this book will be useful.
Section 1, Introduction and Background, is essential to understanding the importance of the boreal forest. The values held by the author – who has long-respected know-ledge and on-the-ground practical experience – are well explained.
Section 2, Definition and Scientific Rationale, discusses the eight primary principles of EBCP and the importance of the kincentric approach to understanding and appreciating what an ecosystem is. He gives scientific support for EBCP and discusses key concepts, such as ecological integrity and ecological limits. All key concepts and principles, and their relationships, are also well presented in understandable tables, diagrams, and photos.
Section 3, Important Boreal Forest Characteristics, describes what the boreal forest is, the complex interrelationships of land and water in this cold climate, and how natural and human-caused factors affect this and other ecologically sensitive ecosystems.
Section 4, Steps to Develop an Ecosystem-Based Conservation Plan, builds logically on the material presented. A roadmap for using this section can be used as a workbook, as can the process summary and checklist at the end of this section.
Section 5, Case Studies of Ecosystem-Based Conservation Plans, is worth the price of the book, in my humble opinon. The two main ones described are from the Innu and the Xeni Gwet'in peoples. "Neither relate to their land as wilderness, but as identities to be respected through a caring relationship that protects the integrity of the land and water while providing for human needs…. The practical process of EBCP illustrated by these case studies may be applied in any ecosystem – any landscape – across Earth."
Section 6, Planners' Toolkit, goes to the bones of the subject; it focuses on how to work without computers, how to develop data sets, GIS analysis and interpretations, aerial photography and satellite images, and map designs. It presents information on ecologically sustainable forestry, fitting mineral exploration and mining into an EBCP, and an illuminating subsection on Appreciative Inquiry, a community dialogue and planning process.
The concluding section includes thoughtful words from the author, a glossary, and references. The book has 92 figures and 9 tables. Get this book!
[From Watershed Sentinel Sept/Oct 2011 issue]