Community Forests in BC: Lessons from Abroad

…There is widespread agreement that the community forest tenures are an appropriate path forward for BC’s forest sector.

by Reem Hajjar, M. Fernanda Tomaselli and Robert Kozak

Published in the Silviculture Magazine Summer 2013

Since their formal inception as a result of amendments to the Forest Act of 1998, community forests in British Columbia have had a checkered history. That said, successes have far outweighed failures, and there is widespread agreement that the community forest tenures are an appropriate path forward for BC’s forest sector. However, some problems remain, and currently, community forests in BC are grappling with four pressing needs[1]: (1) the expansion of the community forests program to allow for any community with forestlands surrounding it to initiate one; (2) increased government funds to support marketing activities; (3) the reinstatement the Land Based Investment program or similar funds that would allow for improved forest management; and (4) clarity on community forest governance issues and how volunteer boards and hired staff can best work together for the benefit of local communities.

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