An analysis of community forest implementation in British Columbia, Canada

The community forest is increasingly seen as an alternative to industrial forestry for its perceived potential to mitigate conflict in forest resource management and planning. Theoretically, a community-based approach affords the chance to assert local values, provide local benefits, and manage resources differently than established top-down approaches. Yet practical examples of community forest initiatives in Canada reveal a host of constraints. This research uses a multiple case study design to investigate the motivations for and challenges to implementing community forests in British Columbia, Canada. Observations are drawn from four case studies (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island, and Creston) in order to consider implementation as an ongoing and dynamic process. Site visits and semi-structured interviews with community forest stakeholders were conducted in June 2005. Based on a synthesis of the community-based resource management and implementation literature, the analysis uses a systems approach to identify challenges at multiple spatial and temporal scales to examine the complexity of cross-scale interactions. The study outlines a sequence of process stages and associated challenges that are critical to developing successful community forests. In addition to unique, context-specific challenges, results show that low local support and awareness, low First Nations support, difficulty reaching consensus, lack of human and physical resources, poor forest health and timber profiles, weak senior government support, resistance from the industrial/scientific forestry paradigm, and competition for land and forest tenure are common challenges. Results confirm that the primary motivation for community forestry is local control of resources for local benefits; however, local development pressure is also an impetus for increasing control. This reveals a key difference between communities where forests are important from the standpoint of the traditional forest-industry compact versus those where forests are important for lifestyle and tourism. Given the range of critical challenges involved, communities pursuing community forestry must be sure of their intentions and they must be sure that community forestry is truly the appropriate route to achieving local goals

Briefing Note: Community Forestry in Canada

Global economic instability, the need for local adaptation to climate change impacts, and Supreme Court rulings over Aboriginal and Treaty Rights have drawn attention to community dissatisfaction with centralized approaches to natural resource management. Communities across Canada seek opportunities for increased control over and benefits from natural resources

Community forests Canada: Bridging practice, research and advocacy. A Symposium and Workshop Report.

The purpose of this report is to share experiences and observations from the Community Forests Canada joint workshop-symposium hosted by the Centre for Forest Interdisciplinary Research and Department of Environmental Studies and Sciences at The University of Winnipeg on June 25th and 26th, 2014. The new national network, Community Forests Canada, is committed to research, policy development, and advocacy for community forest initiatives. Stakeholders including researchers, Aboriginal representatives, government officials, local advocates, industry representatives, and students came together to exchange experiences and resources of significance to forest communities, industries, and ecosystems."The workshop and symposium were primarily supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and The University of Winnipeg. Several other partners also made important cash and in-kind contributions....

Exploring Conservation Authority Operations in Sudbury, Northern Ontario: Constraints and opportunities

This research explores how the Nickel District Conservation Authority (NDCA), in Sudbury, northern Ontario was affected by provincial restructuring through a survey of budget data and programs from the period of existing data (1980-2002). Previously identified hinterland characteristics are considered in relation to the NDCA to explore how land base and socio-economic attributes influence operations. Since provincial reforms began in 1992, results show a general decline in NDCA revenues, with a steep decrease in provincial funding by 78.5%, while municipal funding has increased by 22%. Mean annual resource and conservation program spending have decreased 57% and 77% respectively. Conservation, education, and recreation programs accounted for 5% of total program spending from 1996 to 2002. Taken together, existing policy and context challenge the NDCA as an agent of environmental conservation, and highlight the need to develop strategies to address regional issues. The Conservation Authority (CA) founding principles are used to frame the discussion of results and implications for the NDCA. The conclusion provides a brief summary and outlines key areas for further research. Research addressing 1) resident perceptions of and support for CAs, 2) cost-sharing and service alliance assessments, 3) feasibility assessments for user fee generating recreation facilities, and 4) regional quantitative analyses of contextual land base and socio-economic factors affecting CA performance are needed. Satisfying these research needs, among others, will broaden local and regional understanding of Ontario CAs and advance provincial conservation initiatives. / Les auteurs de cette recherche analysent la manière dont le Office de protection de la nature du District du Nickel (OPNDN) de Sudbury, dans le nord de l’Ontario, a été touché par la réorganisation provinciale, en faisant un relevé des programmes et des données budgétaires de 1980 à 2002. Les caractéristiques de l’arrière-pays dégagées précédemment y sont examinées afin d’étudier la manière dont les caractéristiques du territoire et les caractéristiques socioéconomiques influent sur le fonctionnement de l’OPNDN. Depuis le début des réformes provinciales en 1992, les résultats indiquent un déclin général des revenus de l’OPNDN, avec une importante diminution du financement provincial de l’ordre de 78,5 p. 100, alors que le financement municipal a augmenté de 22 p. 100. Les ressources et les dépenses annuelles moyennes ont augmenté de 57 p. 100 et 77 p. 100 respectivement. Les programmes de conservation, de sensibilisation et de loisirs ont compté pour 5 p. 100 des dépenses totales de 1996 à 2002. Ensemble, la politique et le contexte actuels mettent l’OPNDN au défi à titre d’agent de conservation environnementale et mettent en lumière le besoin d’élaborer des stratégies visant à traiter des problèmes régionaux. On utilise les principes fondateurs des offices de protection de la nature pour encadrer l’analyse des résultats et des conséquences pour l’OPNDN. La conclusion présente un bref sommaire et donne un aperçu des principales questions nécessitant des recherches plus approfondies. Il faut effectuer des recherches sur les sujets suivants : 1) la perception des résidents des offices de protection de la nature et le soutien qu’ils leur offrent; 2) des évaluations sur le partage des coûts et sur l’alliance de services; 3) des études de faisabilité d’installations récréatives générant des frais d’utilisation; 4) des analyses quantitatives générales des facteurs liés au territoire et des facteurs socioéconomiques influant sur le rendement des offices de protection de la nature. Répondre à ces besoins en matière de recherche permettra, entre autres, de mieux comprendre, aux échelles locale et régionale, les offices de protection de la nature de l’Ontario et de faire progresser les initiatives provinciales de conservation.Support provided by the F. J. MacLeod Conservation Endowment and Laurentian University

Correcting Velocity Dispersions of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies for Binary Orbital Motion

We show that the measured velocity dispersions of dwarf spheroidal galaxies from about 4 to 10 km s^(–1) are unlikely to be inflated by more than 30% due to the orbital motion of binary stars and demonstrate that the intrinsic velocity dispersions can be determined to within a few percent accuracy using two-epoch observations with 1-2 yr as the optimal time interval. The crucial observable is the threshold fraction—the fraction of stars that show velocity changes larger than a given threshold between measurements. The threshold fraction is tightly correlated with the dispersion introduced by binaries, independent of the underlying binary fraction and distribution of orbital parameters. We outline a simple procedure to correct the velocity dispersion to within a few percent accuracy by using the threshold fraction and provide fitting functions for this method. We also develop a methodology for constraining properties of binary populations from both single- and two-epoch velocity measurements by including the binary velocity distribution in a Bayesian analysis

Community Forests Canada: A New National Network

http://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc2013-02

Aboriginal Capacity Building Achievements for Sustainable Natural Resource Development

This knowledge synthesis report provides the first bibliometric profile and systemic review of research on Aboriginal capacity building for natural resource development in Canada.This report was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada and The University of Winnipeg

Learning from community forestry experience: Challenges and lessons from British Columbia

A multiple case study approach is used to investigate community forest implementation challenges in British Columbia, Canada. Stakeholder interviews, document review and visits to the case sites (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island and Creston) were used to collect data on events occurring between 1990 and 2005. In addition to case-specific challenges, our analysis confirmed common challenges related to a lack of support, consensus, and organizational resources as well as poor forest health and timber profiles, resistance from conventional forest management, and competition for land and tenures. Development pressure emerged as a challenge for communities without land use decisionmaking authority. The final section offers some lessons and recommendations. / Une approche d’études de cas multiples est utilisée pour étudier les défis découlant de l’implantation de forêts communautaires en Colombie-Britannique, Canada. Nous avons effectué des entrevues auprès des intervenants, une revue des documents et des visites sur le terrain (Denman Island, Malcolm Island, Cortes Island et Creston) afin de recueillir des données sur les événements survenus entre 1990 et 2005. En plus des défis spécifiques à chaque cas, notre analyse a confirmé des défis communs reliés à la faiblesse des appuis, à un consensus mitigé et un manque de ressources organisationnelles ainsi qu’un mauvais état de santé des forêts et une pauvre répartition de la qualité au niveau des tiges, à la résistance par rapport à l’aménagement forestier conventionnel et à la compétition pour l’utilisation du territoire et la forme de tenure. Les communautés n’ayant pas d’autorité en matière de prise de décision sur l’utilisation du territoire ont connu l’émergence de défis face à des pressions de développement. La dernière section présente quelques leçons et recommandations.Support for this work has been provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and inkind support has been generously provided by Western Forest Products.http://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc85293-

A Critical Frame Analysis of Northern Ontario's 'Forestry Crisis'

Since 2001, the forest sector and forest communities across Northern Ontario have experienced many challenges. In response, there has been significant provincial debate and policy reform surrounding the use and control of Crown forests, and some local leaders have established the Northeast Superior Forest Community Corporation (NSFC) under the federal Forest Communities Program (FCP) to collaborate for much needed economic and governance alternatives. This process has been difficult and characterized by uncertainty and conflict. This research examines evolving social framings of Northern Ontario’s ‘forestry crisis’ and the consequences of uneven power relations in the Northeast Superior Region of Ontario, Canada. Four core research questions were pursued: 1) how do different actors frame the forestry crisis in the Northeast Superior Region (e.g., problems, solutions and different actors)? 2) Do actors’ frames change over time? 3) What forms and sources of power are present and how do they influence, if at all, the construction of shared meaning? 4) How does social learning influence the way actors approach forest management problems related to policy, planning and practice? A single embedded case study design and mixed methods approach enabled analysis at the regional and organizational scales, for the period 2001-2009. A key informant survey assessed regional public-civic-private perceptions regarding the use and control of Crown forests. Fifty-nine interviews and over 200 documents from local and regional newspapers and reports were examined. Direct observations from two NSFC meetings and two regional conferences regarding Ontario’s forest governance challenges supplemented these data. Actors’ contrasting and shifting views were coded using QSR Nvivo 7 and analyzed for convergence as evidence of collective reframing. Survey results and frame analysis established two main perspectives of the ‘forestry crisis’: 1) a conventional perspective in which forest companies hold the primary interest in resource extraction as policy agents; and, 2) an alternative view that seeks increased municipal and Aboriginal control of forests to achieve equity and provide regional stability. Power relations reinforced an entrenched community of interest, including both internal and external actors (e.g., investors, mill managers and workers, bush workers, and government regulators), that has formed around a common goal and/or set of beliefs (i.e., timber extraction and scientific forestry). These interests have historically reproduced uneven social relations and overridden communities of place and collective place-based identities. The analysis builds to 14 conclusions that address the core research questions, highlights of which include: • Social framings of the forestry crisis in the Northeast Superior Region, as well as identities and local culture, are mediated by core-periphery dynamics. Such conditions normalize ongoing community instability and oversimplify notions of sustainability which prioritize a perpetual timber supply and economic values. • Commitment to place before interests provides a basis to develop trust and mutual understanding of each other and shared problems, and enable reframing of common identities based on shared values and local problems/opportunities. • Public control and collaboration are strongly valued in the Northeast Superior Region. Many leaders and residents want control over resources devolved to the municipal level; however, awareness and a model for effective implementation are needed. • Independent local forums are valuable for developing alternative and representative social framings. • Relational power works to consolidate various forms of agent-based power in dominant actors rather than facilitating its distribution. • Actors with unmatched positional and expertise power can (un)intentionally subvert reframing processes through limiting the participation of dissenters, thereby controlling the organizational framings guiding actions. • Dominant social relations influenced the perceived range of reasonable or desirable options as dominant actors bounded the problem to serve conventional interests, which in turn constrained debate about solutions. • Reframing a common place-based identity inclusive of Aboriginals and municipalities requires the willing redistribution of agent-based power and full recognition of Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. This research builds understanding of how power relations affect the social framings that drive action in settings of crisis, conflict and uncertainty, and provides new evidence to bridge concepts from framing and social learning theory. It supports the premise that social learning is a political process inherent in multi-party collaboration, in which reconciliation of individual and group identities occurs alongside the negotiation of problem and solution definitions. By documenting regional and NSFC perspectives, this research supports the search for alternative tenure models to reinvigorate Ontario’s forest economy and communities. Ten recommendations for NSFC, the Forest Communities Program or emerging collaborative organizations focus on organizational governance and practice to improve conditions affecting power relations and social learning. Main points include considering the need to organize culturally appropriate public workshops on forest issues to meet the need for deliberative space; increase access to organizational information and opportunities for NSFC plans to be publicly reviewed; actively participate in Ontario tenure policy reform discussions to develop, publicize and implement policy alternatives; support Aboriginal and Treaty Rights and meaningful resolution of First Nations settlement negotiations; expand NSFC board representation to include at-large public and ex-officio provincial members; decentralize organizational structures to establish a physical presence in partner communities and draw on leadership and capacity from the whole region; and, establish an explicit rationale for and clearly identify geographical boundaries for the organization