Bioeconomy Committee Report Released

21st century value-added forestry by Bob Simpson, Williams Lake Tribune – January 12, 2012
Last year I was appointed to the government’s bioeconomy committee along with MLAs John Yap, John Rustad, Eric Foster and Ron Cantelon. We were given a mandate to determine if an opportunity exists for B.C. to take advantage of the emerging bioeconomy and, if so, recommend what initial steps government should take to maximize this opportunity.  This week the bioeconomy committee report was released

at the Natural Resources’ forum in Prince George:  www.bcnaturalresourceforum.com/.  The committee concluded that there is an exciting opportunity for B.C. in the emerging bioeconomy. The market potential of this new economy is huge ($170 billion for bioenergy, $200 billion for bioproducts) and B.C. has some of the best fiber resources to feed it. The job potential of this sector is also great, making it the real “value-added” forest industry of the 21st century. read more