Reforesting the Earth

Thomas K. Rudel examines a wide range of conservation and reforestation efforts to shed new light on the social factors that lead to success.

Thomas K. Rudel is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Human Ecology and Sociology at Rutgers University. His most recent book is Shocks, States, and Sustainability: The Origins of Radical Environmental Reforms (2019).

Patrick Meyfroidt, UCLouvain:
Reforesting the Earth demonstrates Rudel's ability to weave together a large amount of complex dynamics into a compelling narrative. This narrative makes a convincing case for the crucial role of compacts, or coalitions of actors, as effective agents to address forest conservation and restoration challenges within the broader context of land use, land tenure, inequality, and livelihoods issues. Linking explicitly to the questions of consumption and degrowth, this book provides an optimistic, forward-looking but lucid roadmap for activists' coalitions.

William F. Laurance, Distinguished Research Professor and Australian Laureate, James Cook University:
Thomas Rudel is in a class of his own as a wide-ranging thinker and synthesizer of environmental research. Reforesting the Earth is a remarkably timely book that rings a note of optimism for our planet—forwarding the view that severely damaged ecosystems and their imperiled species can be dragged back from the edge of extinction.

Eric Lambin, George and Setsuko Ishiyama Provostial Professor, Stanford University and Professor, UCLouvain:
This book analyzes the various ways forests are being restored, as illustrated by case studies from all over the world. Rudel eloquently argues that the success of interventions to conserve and expand forests depends on committed governments and nongovernmental organizations working together with local landholders. An essential book to help forests deliver global benefits for humanity, including climate change mitigation.