Role of Technology in Conservation and Sustainability, 2000 Environmental Conference Proceedings

- T. Snellgrove, T. Wegner -- Forests play a vital role in the environmental and economic health of North America. However, pressures on these forests have never been greater. Although progress has been made in understanding and addressing many questions pertaining to sustainability, the dilemma of how to best achieve a balance of environmental and economic goals continues to set the broad context for resource management issues. Sustainability of forestry is clearly influenced by several interrelated trends: (1) international expectations, (2) increasing demand for forest usage, (3) a changing forest resource, and (4) increasing environmental concerns. Demand for all uses of forests will increase because of a growing economy and population. People need products and services from forests, they want jobs, and they expect a clean environment. This puts us on a collision course between resource capacity and people's needs. Aside from population controls or much more stringent consumption controls (both of which appear unlikely), conservation will play a strong role in fostering sustainability. Technology aimed at conservation, although no panacea, is a rational choice for mitigating environmental impacts in the near term and, properly focused, will be a vital part of long-term solutions. Whether technology is used to protect or merely exploit the natural environment will be one of the most challenging policy choices of the 21st century. Recognizing this distinction is the key to the appropriate development and application of technology.