Book ID: CBB542670861

Forests Are Gold: Trees, People, and Environmental Rule in Vietnam (2016)

unapi

McElwee, Pamela D. (Author)


University of Washington Press


Publication Date: 2016
Physical Details: xxvi + 283
Language: English

Ho Chi Minh, the founder of modern Vietnam, once famously remarked that "forests are gold--if we know to protect and develop them well, they will be very precious." Ho's statement conveys important ideas about nature, the state, and society that are relevant in understanding contemporary environmental issues in Vietnam. For Ho and other political leaders, forests have been about more than trees: they were about the development and administration of both people and landscapes. This book presents a genealogy of forest management in Vietnam from the beginning of French colonial rule to the present day. Using detailed ethnographic, interview, archival and biological data, Pamela McElwee presents a nuanced perspective on environmental change through the eyes of subjects on the ground. By explaining how knowledge about forests was generated, and by whom, and how this knowledge was used by different actors engaged in forest governance, the book shows that forests are not "natural" entities outside of human influence. (Worldcat)

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Reviewed By

Review Ian M. Miller (April 2018) Review of "Forests Are Gold: Trees, People, and Environmental Rule in Vietnam". Environmental History (pp. 426-427). unapi

Review Déry, Steve (January 2018) Review of "Forests Are Gold: Trees, People, and Environmental Rule in Vietnam". Technology and Culture (pp. 181-183). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB542670861/

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Authors & Contributors
Aso, Michitake
Liu, Jennifer A.
Morgan J. Robinson
Velayutham Saravanan
Joshua Grace
Beth E. Notar
Concepts
Colonialism
Postcolonialism
Environmental history
Forests and forestry
France, colonies
Cross-cultural interaction; cultural influence
Time Periods
20th century
19th century
21st century
18th century
20th century, late
20th century, early
Places
Vietnam
India
Tanzania (Tanganyika, Zanzibar)
Egypt
China
East Africa
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