Clearcut
Political Economies of Deforestation

A new Cambridge University Press book by University of Helsinki Professor Markus Kröger was recently launched at an event that featured commentary by The Corner House's Larry Lohmann. The launch can be viewed at 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjj17DzxYKY

and the book and Lohmann's commentary are available above in PDF format.

Kröger's book, Clearcut: Political Economies of Deforestation, explores the causes of deforestation in Brazil, Finland, Peru and elsewhere. In an attempt at a fresh understanding of why our planet's forests are under threat, the author introduces the concept of regionally-dominant political economies (RDPEs) as a way of understanding the dynamics of cattle ranching, paper pulping, and the conjunction of gold mining and narcotrafficking as agents of forest destruction. The book draws on extensive field research as well as world-systems analysis and many other disciplines.