Timber is a vital resource that is all
around us.
It is the house that shelters us, the furniture we
relax in, the books we read, the paper we print, the disposable diapers for our babies,
and the boxes that contain our cereal, detergent, and new appliances. The way we produce
and consume timber, however, is changing. With international timber companies and big box
discount retailers increasingly controlling through global commodity chains where and how
much timber is traded, the world's remaining old-growth forests, particularly in the
developing world, are under threat of disappearing - all for the price of a consumer
bargain.
This trailblazing book is the first to
expose what's happening inside corporate commodity chains with conclusions that
fundamentally challenge our understanding of how and why deforestation persists. Authors
Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister reveal how timber now moves through long and complex
supply chains from the forests of the global South through the factories of emerging
economies like China to the big box retail shelves of Europe and North America. Well-off
consumers are getting unprecedented deals. But the social and environmental costs are
extraordinarily high as corporations mine the world's poorest regions and most vulnerable
ecosystems.
The growing power of big retail within these
commodity chains is further increasing South-North inequities and unsustainable global
consumption. Yet, as this book's highly original analysis uncovers, it is also creating
some intriguing opportunities to promote more responsible business practices and better
global forest governance.
Table of Contents
List of tables, figures, and text boxes Acknowledgments
1 The Global Political Economy of Timber
2 The Power of Big Retail
3 The Northern Forest and Paper Multinationals
4 The Rise of the Third World
5 Consuming the South
6 Governing Timber Consumption
Notes Selected Readings Index
200 pages, Paperback