For at least 20 years, governments have known that British Columbia’s timber supply would decline in the future - we could not keep cutting at the rate we’ve been going. Now there is an urgent need for up-to-date information to review the timber supply and allowable annual cuts throughout the province.
A 1991 study completed by the Forest Service, A Review of the Timber Supply Analysis Process for British Columbia, examined the procedures which led to the determination of allowable annual cuts, and confirmed the need for change. The study found that:
• existing allowable annual cuts were based on outdated information and management practices
• procedures failed to take into account integrated resource management practices and protection of non-timber values;
• the procedures were far too time-consuming; and,
• analytical techniques had to be strengthened.
As a result, very few analyses were completed within the past decade, with few allowable annual cut adjustments.
The Forest Service acted quickly on the study’s recommendations. The Timber Supply Review was initiated to assess short- and long-term timber supplies in light of current forest practices and integrated resource management. The objectives of this three-year review included:
• identifying the economic, environmental and social consequences of existing forest management practices - including their impacts on short and long term timber supply;
• identifying where improved information is required to make reliable forecasts; and,
• providing the chief forester with information to make necessary adjustments to the allowable annual cuts for the next five years.
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Towards a sustainable future British Columbians agree there is a need for sustainable resource management to ensure a strong forest economy, viable communities and a healthy environment - today and always. The Timber Supply Review is one of several government initiatives to achieve sustainability: • The Forest Renewal Plan is a partnership of all the forest interests, working together to invest in increasing the value of the forest and strengthening the forest sector economy. • The Forest Practices Code creates a single enforceable law to require better forest practices, with heavy penalties for violators. • The Timber Supply Review is providing the information needed to adjust allowable annual cuts to ensure the sustainability of British Columbia’s forests. • The Commission on Resources and Environment, the Protected Areas Strategy, and Land and Resource Management Plans are moving to integrate all values into land-use planning in an effort to end confrontation and valley-by-valley battles. • The B.C. Treaty Commission is moving us towards fair and equitable settlement of treaties which can create long-term social and economic stability for aboriginal and non-aboriginal British Columbians. |
