Sustainable Forest Management Leadership: British Columbia (B.C.) Leading the Way - Essay Sample

Introduction

Generally, British Columbia (B.C) is known mostly for its sustainable forest management leadership globally as it continues to meet with the economics, social, and environmental needs of both the current generations and also the future. Comprehensive monitoring, stringent forest laws, compliance and enforcements, and skilled forestry professionals strengthen B.C maintained leading reputation. By 2016, British Columbia had 128. Five million acres or in using other measurements, 52 million hectares of certified lands (Hickey & Innes, 2008). In terms of forest certification, Canada is the leading leader internationally, with B.C being the main contributing province in forest sustainability as compared to other regions. For quite a long time, there have been numerous unfortunate features trumpeting talk from some environmentalists expressing their debatable thoughts on how the old-growth forest of B.C is endangered. Besides, they caution that in case the province is cautious, it will run out at the end of the day. As always, nothing could be away from reality: 500,000 hectares (55%) of the forests' old-growth remaining are secured on Vancouver Island alone and will never be reaped (Hickey & Innes, 2008). There are additionally a considerable number of old-growth hectares of forest protected by the Coast of B.C. These critical certainties are frequently disregarded in most researches, articles, and contentions expected to constrain Canada's government to finish the old-growth forest logging.

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There have been progressing proposals that the industry dealing with forestry needs to change to the harvesting of second-growth from old-growth. This is an unreasonable demand as a ban of old-growth harvesting forestry would result in a significant economic declination in Vancouver Island's forestry. Nearly 4.4% was from old-growth forest harvests in the year between 2012-to-2017 (Hickey & Innes, 2008). As suggested by environmentalists, ending the harvest of old-growth trees may impact sawmills and sawmills shut down, thus resulting in an issue of unemployment in B.C. As compared to other forest regions globally, B.C, under the environmental certification of the third party, contains more land (forested); it focusses mainly on the conservation of old-growth forest through various legislations, for example, The Great Bear Rainforest Act. This assignment will cover mostly B.C forest management based on three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental, and social. The forests in B.C are sustainably managed.

Pillars of Forest Sustainability (Economic, Environment, and Social)

Today, the practices of forestry maintain and control the balance of forest value such as soil and water quality, biodiversity, wildlife and fish habitat, and also recreational and community opportunities. Well, sustainable forest management assists in ensuring that the harvesting in the forest is legal and managed adequately to satisfy the long-term societal needs and demands of various products from the forest. B.C has diverse and vast rangelands and forests. As nearly 60% of B.C is categorized as forest land, 3% of the land is transformed into human use over the past years. Below are the three pillars of sustainability in relation to the sustainable management of the B.C forest (Hickey & Innes, 2008).

Economic and Social (Socio-Economic) Sustainability

This pillar covers the profitability of the B.C forest to the population around. The forest productivity can be categorized into timber harvesting, land base and growing stock, silviculture, contribution to global carbon cycles, and water and soil resources. Economically, B.C benefits majorly from resources industries, for example, oil and gas, forestry, and mining, which are the main contributors to the economy since the province origins. Forestry activities, for example, timber harvesting, contribute significantly to the development of the BC economy during the 1800s and 1900s until the collapsing occurrence of the US housing market and 2007 economic downturn (Hickey & Innes, 2008). Today, B.C forestry creates wealth and employment opportunities for young adults to better themselves. In 2007, jobs related to the field of forestry, both indirect and direct, represented around 7% of B.C employment as compared to the recent modern days where 82% of the B.C population raise their families and derive their economy from forestry (Hickey & Innes, 2008). Expenditures on recreational activities contribute $2.2 billion to standard GDP every year as forestry helps in employment creation and contributes majorly to the province revenues through tourism, reactional activities, visual quality, and exports of forestry products. To preserve the B.C.s scenic beauty, outwardly sensitive areas and landscapes in B.C. have been mapped, visual quality goals have been lawfully settled, and point by point evaluations are led to improve strategy and practices consistently. Community maintainability and sustainability rely upon numerous elements, for example, amenity values, income, proximity, and potential to alternative employment, diversity of source of income, and address of change. The selling services and goods, which are forest-based, give essential flows of revenue into the community, pays occupant workers, and make other employments as the money info and outflow circles within the community.

Environment Sustainability

Environmental sustainability safeguards the quality and availability of natural resources. The management of natural resources insinuates the satisfactory and mindful utilization of natural or mineral assets expected to continue human life and its socio-economic activities. These include both non-renewable and renewable resources. In comparison to the other pillars of sustainability, environmental sustainability is the essential one because the other, social and economic, are reliant on the environment where humans live. The government of Canada is majorly committed in the management and sustainability of the country's major forestry sector-B.C through legislation and enactments of environmental acts in addition to the creation of organizations that make sure the environment is sustainable (Natural Resource Canada, 2019). The main factor in maintaining a balance between economic sustainability and a healthy environment. B.C's environmental sustainability is practically mirrored in the innovations and successes achieved in recent days. This includes forest management planning, various forest certifications, biodiversity, reforestation, regulatory timber harvesting practices, and protocols, and also the action is taken to manage climate change issues mainly under carbon due to timber harvesting and forest health (Natural Resource Canada, 2019)

Conclusion

In conclusion, the sustainability of forests, in general, depends majorly on the sustainability of the three main integratory factors: the economy, environment, and social system are as seen above. To obtain and manage the balance, a number of distinct factors under the mentioned pillars of sustainability are needed to integrate and work in unison, as usual, will include various shortcomings and arise of debatable topics. Though as compared to other forests, the forest in B.C is sustainably managed through the enaction of multiple practices and acts. In overall, if the product you bought from the market was manufactured and produced in a responsible and well managed and maintained forest, then definitely, the product is good for the community where it comes from (social-economic), is suitable for use (economically) and also good in terms of the environment (environment sustainability).

References

Hickey, G. M., & Innes, J. L. (2008). Indicators for demonstrating sustainable forest management in British Columbia, Canada: An international review. Ecological Indicators, 8(2), 131-140. Retrieved from; https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1470160X06001002

Natural Resource Canada. (2019). Sustainable forest management. Retrieved from; https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/our-natural-resources/forests-forestry/sustainable-forest-management/13183