Forests of consumption: postproductivism, postmaterialism, and the postindustrial forest

Symptoms of postproductivism are more clearly developed in forestry than in agriculture, but they have attracted less attention. The postindustrial' f orest, in which the emphasis placed on timber production is reduced relativ e to that placed on environmental services (such as biodiversity and recrea tion), epitomises the character of postproductive forestry. In many parts o f the industrialised world, forests have essentially become places of consu mption (of amenity, recreation, and wildlife observation) by a largely urba n population, rather than places of production (of timber) for a largely ur ban population. Changing forestry and forest policy in Britain, mainland Eu rope, and North America are reviewed in the light of a trend towards postpr oductivism, and some of the causal factors underlying this trend are explor ed.