Gunns, Greens and Silk:

Many Australian foresters remain unaware of the McLibel case, a 15-year public relations disaster that followed a litigation attempt by the McDonald’s hamburger chain. Recent litigation by Gunns Limited against 20 environmental activists appears to ignore the lessons from that case. The McLibel litigation led to a costly lose-lose outcome, whereas reforms by McDonald’s following a critical movie created a win-win situation in which McDonald’s improved their reputation and their customers gained better food. Parallels that may contribute to such win-win outcomes in forestry are examined. Adaptive collaborative management informed by participatory modelling may be a more productive approach than litigation, and should produce a more durable outcome