The State of BC’s Forests The Indicators Law — PDF print version

Indicator 21 – Law

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Overview

• All forest activities, from timber harvesting to recreation, are governed in varying degrees by law, exercised on the basis of tradition, contractual requirements, administrative policies and legislation.
• British Columbia has a comprehensive framework of law that enables and supports sustainable forest management.

STATE

good

TREND

improving

INFORMATION

partial

Questions about law

21-1	How are the elements of sustainable forest management governed?
21-2	Is government assessing compliance with the law?
21-3	What corrective measures are taken?
21-4	Is the law effective in achieving sustainable forest management?
	What does this indicator tell us about sustainable forest management?

Related indicators

• Conflicting demands for goods and services from forests create the pressure for government to determine and set in law the rights and obligations of stakeholders (see Forest products, First Nations involvement, Public involvement).
• Governing all aspects of sustainable forest management may create a state of legal complexity that can lead to excessive costs for government and stakeholders (see Jobs and communities).
• One response to excessive costs is delegation of authority (see Ownership and management). Non-state governance (see Certification) may address perceived inadequacies in the law.

Indicator 21-1

How are the elements of sustainable forest management governed?

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• Law evolves along with society to protect and balance changing interests in environmental, economic and social values. It authorizes some activities and constrains others, to reduce harm and the risk of harm.
• B.C.’s forest law has evolved over more than a century, to allocate economic opportunities, conserve forests, improve forest planning and forest practices, and establish organizations to support better forestry.
• Administration of timber extraction has been enhanced over time with increasingly comprehensive requirements to ensure a sustainable yield of timber. Early lack of consideration for non-timber values has been replaced by legal requirements for planning, public involvement and explicit objectives to conserve environmental, social and cultural values.
• For most aspects of forestry, initial reliance on contract law and administrative policy was superceded by prescriptive administrative law and, in recent years, by administrative law that enables innovation with a focus on achieving defined objectives. Serious offences continue to be addressed through criminal and quasi-criminal law.
• The legal recognition and roles of the profession of forestry have also evolved, reflecting the increasing breadth and complexity of forestry.

Information

• Various inquiries document the reasons for major changes in the law.

Sources: Forest legislation, ABCFP’s guide to legislation

Related maps: none

Detailed information: Indicator 21-1 (Word)

• MP (1999) 7.1.a to 7.1.e
• CCFM (1995) 4.4.5
• CCFM (2003) 6.5.4

Is government assessing compliance with the law?

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• Several government agencies assess compliance with forest law, using site inspections, patrols and office reviews.
• Before 1979, Ministry of Forests compliance checks focused on timber harvesting contracts and unauthorized timber harvests (illegal logging).
• Inspection of forest practices and non-timber values was added in 1979, but was not systematic. Compliance assessments became more systematic to help enforce the Forest Practices Code Act of 1995, and their rigour was improved in 2001. The Forest and Range Practices Act of 2004 will require further evolution of compliance assessments.
• Inspections have increasingly focused on areas at greatest risk for non-compliance (based on operators’ past performance) or environmental impact. Operators with forest certification are usually a lower risk.
• The independent Forest Practices Board, set up in 1995, audits forest practices and the appropriateness of government enforcement. It also investigates complaints and participates in administrative appeals. The board has found that compliance rates are generally high and increasing.
• The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection monitors pollution emissions from pulp mills and sawmills, and cooperates with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans to protect fish and fish habitat.

Information

• Statistics are published for MoF inspections and Forest Practices Board audits, but not for MWLAP and DFO inspections.

Sources: MoF’s Compliance & Enforcement, Forest Practices Board

Related maps: none

Detailed information: Indicator 21-2 (Excel)

• MP (1999) 7.2.e
• CCFM (1995) none
• CCFM (2003) 3.1, 3.2, 6.4.2

What corrective measures are taken?

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• Inspections promote compliance with the law, prevent non-compliance and detect non-compliance (leading to compliance actions and enforcement actions).
• Compliance actions, averaging 1,800 per year, mitigate minor problems.
• Enforcement actions, averaging 480 per year, result in formal sanctions. These include administrative measures such as monetary penalties and court-enforced measures such as fines and jail sentences. Their purposes are to remedy harm, compensate for loss, prevent profit from a contravention and deter careless or intentional misconduct.
• Monetary penalties and fines average 275 per year and a total of $0.5 million annually. Over 80% of the monetary penalties are for amounts of $5,000 or less. The largest penalty, for unauthorized timber harvesting, was $235,000 in 1999/00. It included the value of the timber.
• The number of minor contraventions resulting in no enforcement action has increased.
• Courts have ordered about two jail sentences per year.
• Large fines for pollution from mills, especially pulp mills, have decreased in number. The largest single fine was $250,000 in 1990.
• Administrative reviews and appeals are available.

Information

• The MoF publishes details of its enforcement actions. MWLAP does not.

Sources: MoF’s Compliance & Enforcement, Forest Practices Board, Appeals

Related maps: none

Detailed information: Indicator 21-3 (Excel)

• MP (1999) 7.2.e
• CCFM (1995) none
• CCFM (2003) 3.1, 3.2, 6.4.2

Is the law effective in achieving sustainable forest management?

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• Ensuring the law’s effectiveness requires responsible innovation, systematic evaluation and continual improvement.
• The MoF has begun monitoring for effectiveness evaluations, to assess whether specific resource values (especially environmental) are being managed sustainably, and to recommend improvements in training, best management practices, policies and legislation.
• Evaluation indicators and monitoring protocols and are rigorously peer-reviewed and field-tested to ensure scientific validity. They are also designed to work at varying levels of intensity.
• Routine, overview monitoring by districts will identify resource value status, trends, implementation issues and areas that require more intensive evaluations by region and headquarters staff.
• The Forest Practices Board cooperated with the MoF in the development and testing of evaluation indicators and has used them to assess the effectiveness of forest practices and to comment on relevant legislation.
• Royal commissions and other inquiries periodically assess the law’s effectiveness in protecting and balancing economic and social values. Government staff also have a role in providing timely assessments.

Information

• Evaluation indicators, methods and results are publicly available.

Sources: MoF’s FRPA Resource Evaluation, Forest Practices Board

Related maps: none

Detailed information: Indicator 21-4 (Excel)

• MP (1999) 7.1.b, 7.1.d
• CCFM (1995) 4.4.5
• CCFM (2003) 6.5.4

 

Indicator 21 – Law What does this indicator tell us about sustainable forest management? State good British Columbia’s legal framework encourages economic development while maintaining environmental requirements, through forest practices regulations that are among the most stringent in the world, and facilitating public involvement to ensure consideration of social values. The government systematically checks compliance and enforces the law. Practices in the forest, and the compliance and enforcement system itself, are also independently audited. The rate of compliance is high, so the number of corrective measures required and the total amount collected in monetary penalties and fines are relatively low. Trend improving During the 1990s, the increasing complexity of forest law resulted in high costs of operation and administration for both the forest industry and government. Recent adjustments of the legal framework have aimed to reduce these costs, increase the potential for innovation in forest and range practices, and re-direct efforts from a focus on compliance with prescriptive regulations to a focus on achievement of desired objectives. Over the past eight years, the minor nature of most contraventions and the increasing number of decisions by government to take no further enforcement action reflect an increasing understanding of, and compliance with, the law. Information partial The development of forest law in B.C. is well documented. Data on Ministry of Forests compliance assessments and corrective measures are publicly available, as are the well-documented, independent audits of the Forest Practices Board. The ultimate effectiveness of the law in achieving specific objectives of sustainable forest management is being rigorously evaluated, but to date only a few results are available.