PURPOSE AND METHODS OF THE STUDY

• a comparison of the B.C. Forest Practices Code to other Canadian and U.S.A., European, Scandinavian, and Australian jurisdictions all having some form of regulated forest practices.
• a description of the objectives or intent of the various codes, regulations, and related legislation.
• an evaluation of the lands in the jurisdiction to which the code/regulations apply.
• an assessment of the specific forest practices and environmental protection measures addressed in the code/regulations, and other legislation.
• the manner by which implementation of the regulations and standards are monitored and enforced.

Wherever possible, the jurisdictions have been examined at a similar level of detail and the report has been written mostly in a non-technical fashion to aid in its readability. At no time does the report provide an evaluative comparison of the various jurisdictions. The determination of “what is best” or “what is lacking” in the B.C. Code or codes of other jurisdictions is left for others to evaluate. In this regard, a constant theme from the individuals representing the various jurisdictions contacted during the course of this study was that, due to historical, political, economic, ecological and other factors, each jurisdiction has developed rules of conduct for forest land management that best fits their needs. In other words, different jurisdictions have different problems and consequently different solutions.

Information gathering was done by a variety of methods to maximize completeness and accuracy. The most significant of these were:

• an extensive literature review utilizing material gathered by others and made available for this study, as well as additional background information gathered by the study team.
• the circulation of a questionnaire to representatives (sometimes several) of a jurisdiction in order to obtain and update information provided.
• telephone interviews, facsimile and electronic mail communications and, where possible, face-to-face interviews.
• the vetting of all information prepared for a jurisdiction back through the representative(s) to ensure accuracy, completeness, and acceptance of the material.

The purpose of this Summary Report is to provide readers with an overview and abbreviated reference of the material contained in the Background Report (separate document). The reader is advised that because of the somewhat complex nature of the comparative criteria discussed it has been very difficult to provide all significant points in a synoptic format. Consequently, the reader is encouraged to refer to the Background Report, and where necessary, information cited in the Bibliography, in order to obtain specific information and additional facts on the issues presented.