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The Nature and Culture of Rattan: Reflections on Vanishing Life in the Forests of Southeast Asia by Stephen F. Siebert
Author(s) -
SINGH SARINDA
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
american ethnologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.875
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1548-1425
pISSN - 0094-0496
DOI - 10.1111/amet.12015_14
Subject(s) - rattan , southeast asia , citation , sociology , history , media studies , library science , ethnology , computer science , botany , biology
[Extract] The Nature and Culture of Rattan provides an enthusiastic and personalized account of the significance of rattan in Southeast Asia, "arguable the world's most important and widely used non-timber forest product (NTFP)" (p. 21). In making this argument, Siebert wants to address Western ignorance about rattan and the timber bias in tropical forest management. The book reflects Siebert's admirable commitment to long-term and grounded ecological research as it draws on over 25 years of fieldwork with forest-dependent communities, especially in Indonesia and Philippines. Written as a personal "reflection," it complements his previous scientific papers on the ecology and management of rattan. As such, it is clearly positioned as a descriptive account aimed especially at engaging students