The Thought of Forest Protection in Man and Nature

Man and Nature, published by American scholar George Marsh in 1864, took the westward movement of the United States as the background, took the development of capitalist industry as the context, and contained rich ideas of forest protection. In Man and Nature, Marsh introduced the utility of the forest, the relationship between man and the forest and the rational use of the forest by human beings in detail. Focusing on the relationship between man and nature, Marsh vividly expounded the destruction and harmfulness of human activities to the forest, and put forward the idea that human beings should protect the forest. Marsh promoted the rise and development of the forest resources conservation movement in the United States, and his forest protection thought has a certain reference significance for us to understand the relationship between human and forest today. Marsh enlightens us that human beings should respect the forest, fear the forest, protect the forest, and realize the harmonious coexistence between man and the forest. Marsh provided a new perspective for human understanding of nature at that time, Marsh’s forest protection thought of Man and Nature is helpful to analyze the necessity of forest protection and the present situation of forest ecological environment in China and put forward suggestions and countermeasures for forest protection in China.