In an attempt to better understand how to regulate a common good, we decided to evaluate a current common good that is being controlled: forests. We have just begun to research this topic. However, it seems as if the forests are being managed relatively well, according to an excerpt below taken from one of the articles found. It is interesting to note that after researching this aspect of regulation, we should be able to draw a parallel to the fishing industry. The main considerations are that fishes repopulate much quicker than trees, which would make the policies even more effective. On the other hand, it is important to recognize that fish are mobile and that forests are not. Also, the policies would have to be implemented on an international scale, which has not yet happened for forests. Even so, this is a good start to begin evaluating forestry standards. The groups of interest we should research are the SFI, the FSC, and the ATFS (as seen below in the article). The FSC is actually a nonprofit organization that issues certificates for well-managed forests. Below is the excerpt with facts.
* The United States ranks fourth on the list of most forest-rich countries, following the Russian Federation, Brazil, and Canada, with 8% of the world's primary forest.
* The number of acres of forestland in the United States has remained essentially the same during the past century.
* On average, 11% of the world's forests benefit from some type of conservation effort. In the United States, 20% are protected by conservation initiatives.
* Assessments of biodiversity on the nation's forests have found that the annual rate at which species are listed as threatened or endangered has declined fivefold.
* Historical trends indicate that the standing inventory (the volume of growing stock) of hardwood and softwood tree species in US forests has grown by 49% between 1953 and 2006.
* Forest management also has been recognized as an effective means of sequestering carbon over the long term. In the United States, the total amount of carbon sequestered by forests and the creation of wood products during the 1990s was estimated at almost 200 megatons per year, an amount equal to approximately 10% of US carbon dioxide emissions.
* An estimated 25% of US private forestland is managed in accordance with one of the three major forest certification schemes (the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, the Forest Stewardship Council, or the American Tree Farm System), and conservation initiatives on private land, such as easements, are becoming increasingly common.
Most encouraging of all, perhaps, is not what has already been accomplished, but what is likely to be achieved by forestry and natural resources professionals in the future. New scientific discoveries occur almost every day and these advances are leading to developments in biofuels, forest conservation, tree farming and production, environmentally sound building materials, fire management, better controls for insect and disease outbreaks, and greater biodiversity - successes that will enhance our efforts to conserve, regrow, and use the forest more effectively than we do today.
Goergen, M. (2007, Jul/Aug). Journal of Forestry [www document] (Vol. 105, Iss. 5). Proquest (visited 2007, November 8).