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Systems Modelling and forestry




So, the day after my weekend in Quebec with the highly emotive
demonstrators, I find myself in a workshop with a bunch of highly
intellectual academics studying "systems thinking for sustainability".

Very interesting, very revealing, but very limiting and maddeningly
reductionistic !

I got a good laugh from the class in describing my experience of the course
as being able to "hit the wall with crystal clarity " !

We did an in-depth model of the northern forests and spent a lot of time
looking at ways that we might stem the outflow of forest to the mills.

At one point I wonderd out loud why we weren't so much as considering
planting forests on a massive scale.

That idea was quickly dismissed because, according to the model, the more
you plant, the more the mill has material, the more you perpetuate the cycle
and therefore clearly, this proposed "solution" would in fact contribute to
the problem !

This has kept me up several nights now. With everything we know about global
warming, the population boom, and the pressing need to sequester carbon, it
amazes me that the planting of forests still appears, even to concerned,
knowledgeable people, to be an unworthy idea !

One fellow, reputed to be a big cheese in the world of forestry even took me
aside after class to explain to me that planting was just not "cost
effective" and made no sense.

Not sure what my question is but I think I'm trying to link this with the
thread on research being needed.

How can we convince these forestry people that planting trees, (and then
legislating for their sustainable harvest), means short,medium and long-term
yields of food, fiber and fuel  not to mention jobs, and immeasurable
ecological benefits to boot ?!

How can that NOT be cost-effective?

 Do we have any studies/numbers that support this notion or am I just living
in woo-woo-ville over here? ( Not to be confused with Dr. Seuss' "Whoville",
which seems like a decent sort of place)

Seems to me that when a reductionistic forestry model dismisses the planting
of trees and the securing of our life support systems in favor of the
sustained profitability of mill owners ---- then maybe it's time for the
academics to drop their elegant Cartesian models and for me to get back to
the streets.

Are you out there Mikal ?! :-)

Love,

Claude