For at least 20 years, governments have known that, based on current practices, British Columbia’s timber supply would decline in the future—we could not keep cutting at the rate we’ve been going. The Timber Supply Review responds to the urgent need for up-to-date information to determine allowable annual cuts that fully reflect current practices.
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• existing allowable annual cuts were based on outdated information and management practices;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;
• procedures were far too time consuming; and,
• analytical techniques had to be strengthened.
As a result, very few timber supply analyses had been completed since the early 1980s, 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 goals.
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Towards a sustainable future British Columbians agree there is a need for sustainable resource management to ensure a strong 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, Land and Resource Management Plans, the Forest Land Reserve and the Protected Areas Strategy are moving to integrate all values into land-use planning in an effort to achieve land-use stability. • The B.C. Treaty Commission is moving toward fair and equitable settlement of treaties which can create long-term social and economic stability for aboriginal and non-aboriginal British Columbians.
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