Enhance Environmental Values: Goals and Strategies

1
Enhance Environmental Values Goals and
Strategies

• Identifying Knowledge Gaps to Support
  Sustainability in BCs Natural Resource Sector
• Think Tank Presentation
• August 15-17, 2000
• by Barbara Levesque and Tam Lundy

Southern Interior Forest Extension and Research
Partnership
2
Sub-group Soil
Goal
To restore structure, biology and productivity of
the soil on sites disturbed by forest operations.
3
Problem Statement
Subgroup Soil

• Where soil impacts through forest operations
  have reduced soil productivity, rehabilitation
  treatments can be used to restore soil structure
  and function. A lack of knowledge of the
  effectiveness of rehabilitation strategies has
  limited our ability to make appropriate
  prescriptions.
• What rehabilitation methods restore structure,
  biology, and productivity of the soil?

4
Strategies
Subgroup Soil

• 1. Establish cooperative consultative process
  between BCMOF, BCMOE, researchers, licensees and
  other interested stakeholders.
• 2. Complete series of installations province-wide
  comparing rehabilitation treatment alternatives,
  including cost of operations and effectiveness in
  achieving rehabilitation objectives.

5
Strategies, continued...
Subgroup Soil

• 3. Continue maintenance of previously- established
  research installations.
• 4. Synthesize results of soil rehabilitation
  research and extend prescription recommendations
  to practitioners.

6
Sub-group Water

• General Problem Statement
• In order to evaluate the effectiveness of Forest
  Practices and the WRP, we need a better
  understanding of natural and managed watershed
  processes and measurable and reliable indicators
  of watershed health. Watershed processes include
  upslope, riparian and aquatic processes.

7

Subgroup Water
Goal 1
To better understand dominant watershed processes
affecting stream channels and water in the
various hydrologic zones.
Problem Statement 1 What are the dominant
watershed processes affecting stream channels and
water in the various hydrologic zones.
8
Subgroup Water
Strategies
1. Determine the sediment and LOD budgets in
watersheds of different sizes and hydrologic
zones. 2. Establish reference watersheds for
longterm monitoring in various hydrologic
zones. 3 Conduct paired watershed studies 4
Conduct synoptic studies 5 Conduct historical
analysis
9

Subgroup Water
Goal 2
To identify criteria and indicators of watershed
health to assess effectiveness of management
practices and restoration activities.
Problem Statement 2 What are the measurable
indicators of watershed health?
10
Subgroup Water
Strategies
1. Conduct synoptic studies 2. Create longterm
reference sites 3. Use paired experimental
approach 4. Upstream and downstream comparisons
11

Subgroup Water
Goal 3
To maximize benefits of restoration activities.
Problem Statement 3 What is the efficacy of
restoration treatments at the site and watershed
scale?
12
Subgroup Water
Strategies
1. Treatment efficacy monitoring at site
scale 2. Conduct paired watershed studies 3.
Investigate sediment budgets 4. Conduct longterm
studies 5. Modeling 6. Cost/benefit studies
13

Subgroup Water
Goal 4
To evaluate the effectiveness of the forest
practices in maintaining watershed processes and
protecting aquatic values.
Problem Statement 4 Is the FPC effective in
maintaining watershed process and protecting
aquatic values?
14
Subgroup Water
Strategies
1. Conduct synoptic studies 2. Conduct paired
watershed studies 3. Site scale and/or watershed
scale 4. Holistic and/or code components eg.
Green- up, RMZ, etc...
15

Subgroup Water
Goal 5
To understand small-stream processes and linkages
with the rest of the watershed.
Problem Statement 5 What are the functions of
small headwater streams in the context of the
entire watershed and how do current harvesting
practices affect these streams.
16
Subgroup Water
Strategies
1. Conduct synoptic studies 2. Conduct paired
watershed studies 3. Modeling 4. Water-material
balance studies.
17
Sub-group Biodiversity
18
Goal 1
Subgroup Biodiversity

• To have complete and comprehensive understanding
  by natural and managed disturbance regimes in
  ecosystem management and restoration by NDT. AND
  to increasingly manage towards natural patterns
  and processes of disturbance in strategic and
  operational planning.

Problem statement 1
How do we increase and incorporate our knowledge
of natural and managed disturbance regimes in
ecosystem management and restoration.
19
Strategies
Subgroup Biodiversity

• 1. Establish provincial working groups for
  coordination of info on different NDTs
• 2. Synthesize current data
• 3. Identify research priorities within NDTs
• 4. Develop provincial strategies for research
  coordination
• 5. Implement research within priority NDTs ( ie.
  NDT1 and NDT4) encompassing all disturbance
  agents.
• 6. Incorporation and monitoring of research
  results into spatial models and higher level plans

20
Goal 2
Subgroup Biodiversity

• To develop methodologies for early detection of
  forest health issues and to assess potential
  impacts and to proactively address forest health
  issues in concert with ecosystem/habitat
  management goals and to avoid reactive,
  short-term, forest health crisis management.

Problem statement 2

• How do we integrate management of forest health
  with our understanding of managed and natural
  disturbance regimes?

21
Strategies
Subgroup Biodiversity

• 1. Develop methodologies to predict stochastic
  adverse forest health events and incorporate into
  susceptibility and risk rating systems
  appropriate for resource management plans
• 2. Develop strategic forest health management
  planning
• 3. Develop forest treatments appropriate to
  sensitive, non-harvestable, and/or protected
  forest areas.

22
Goal 3
Subgroup Biodiversity

• To sustain biodiversity and wildlife species at
  risk while balancing impacts on timber supply.

Problem statement 3
How do differences between managed and natural
disturbance regimes affect biodiversity and
higher-level plan species?
23
Strategies
Subgroup Biodiversity

• 1. Establish provincial working groups for
  coordination of info on different NDTs /
  Ecoregions
• 2. Synthesize current data and info
• 3. Implement research priorities within NDTs for
  wildlife spp.
• 4. Develop provincial/ local strategies for
  research coordination
• 5. Implement research within priority
  NDTs/ecoregions
• 6. Incorporate and monitor research results into
  stand and landscape models

24
Goal 4
Subgroup Biodiversity

• To develop ecologically-based criteria for
  retention of CWD, Old-growth attributes, and
  leave-trees in managed stands by NDT.

Problem statement 4

• What are the baseline levels, ecologically-appropr
  iate targets, and ecological functions of CWD,
  Old-growth, and leave-tree retention (ie. WTP) in
  different NDTs?

25
Strategies
Subgroup Biodiversity

• 1. To review existing information
• 2. To establish inventories of baseline in
  managed and unmanaged stands
• 3. Retrospective studies of vegetation and stand
  structural development after a variety of
  disturbances.
• 4. Test assumptions with respect to ecological
  functions (eg. Wildlife habitat, soil biology)

26
Sub-group Stewardship
27
Goal 1
Subgroup Stewardship

• To achieve meaningful participation by all people
  and organizations affected by an issue in
  planning and decision-making.

Problem statement 1

• There isnt meaningful participation of all
  people and organizations affected by an issue in
  planing and decision making

28
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. Support capacity building among all
  participants including government, NGOs
  individuals. (Capacity building means address
  knowledge skills, attitudes, relationships,
  processes, and systems.)
• 2. Explore existing examples of initiatives that
  involve inclusion, meaningful participation,
  shared power in planning and decision-making from
  diverse sectors practitioners, social science
  types, forestry types.
• 3. Explore emerging thinking and practice from a
  variety of sourcestheory and practices including
  academic work, community work, and cutting edge
  practices (eg. Municipalities, other ministries
  and other sectors.

29
Strategies continued
Subgroup Stewardship

• 4. Identify indicators of meaningful
  participation.
• 5. Build partnerships among FRBC and other
  organizations to learn about and develop
  approaches for capacity building (could build
  learning links at local, regional, provincial,
  federal and international levels).

30
Goal 2
Subgroup Stewardship

• To foster forest policy, planning and management
  processes which reflect the diversity of
  worldviews and knowledge systems of British
  Columbians. Eg. Ethnic, cultural, urban, rural,
  gender, etc.

Problem statement 2
Lack of capacity to incorporate a diversity of
worldviews (values, beliefs and ideologies) and
knowledge systems into forest policy, planning
and management.
31
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. To explore existing examples of incorporating
  diverse worldviews and knowledge systems outside
  of the forestry sector - e.g. California,
  developing countries and identify successful
  approaches that could be tested in BC
• 2. When examining parallel worldviews, what are
  the points of entry (e.g. values, concepts,
  tools, language) that will embrace diversity,
  respect and honour differences and find common
  ground for working together.

32
Strategies continued
Subgroup Stewardship

• 3. Develop skills, knowledge and capacity
  building processes that communicates these
  concepts across all forest policy, planning and
  management practices.
• 4. Establish models and pilots of inclusive
  worldview and knowledge system processes to test
  different approaches.

33
Goal 3
Subgroup Stewardship

• To develop robust analytical and decision models
  that have capability to assess resource
  allocations and distribution of benefits.

Problem statement 3
Current analytical and decision-making models
used in planning and management are not robust
for assessing timber and non-timber resource
allocations and distribution of cultural,
environmental, social, economic benefits at
provincial and local scales.
34
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. Analyze case studies where current models have
  been used in planning and decision-making assess
  strengths and weaknesses and look for possible
  improvements based new methods. (BC and
  elsewhere).
• 2. Develop better measures for values of
  non-timber resources, particularly non-economic
  (qualitative and quantitative) criteria.
• 3. From a community (more than local government)
  perspective analyze how the full array of
  resources can be used to generate sustainable
  economic and employment benefits.

35
Strategies continued
Subgroup Stewardship

• 4. Test and compare different models with respect
  to present economic and other values from the
  provincial to local level.

36
Goal 4
Subgroup Stewardship

• To improve knowledge about sustainable production
  and utilisation of non-timber resources.

Problem statement 4

• There is a lack of knowledge about the
  sustainable production and utilisation of
  non-timber resources (mushrooms, recreation,
  spiritual..).

37
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. Identify gaps in existing inventories and
  design standards to gather new information.
• 2. Undertake further studies of non-timber
  resource ecology in order to predict responses to
  management treatments including choice of
  silvicultural systems and future productivity an
  second growth forests.
• 3. Investigate traditional knowledge of
  non-timber resources to develop insights into
  management, use and education.

38
Strategies continued
Subgroup Stewardship

• 4. Enhance resource supply models to provide
  multiple outputs for timber and non-timber
  products.
• 5. Develop methods to determine the values of
  non-timber resources and enhance their values.

39
Goal 5
Subgroup Stewardship

• To achieve environmental stewardship across a
  diversity of ownership and rights-public/private.

Problem statement 5
How do we achieve environmental stewardship when
there is a diversity of ownership and rights
public and private
40
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. Undertake case studies in portions of the
  province where there is currently a picture of
  ownership and tenures. Eg. Vancouver Island.
• 2. Identify environmental stewardship issues and
  strengths and weaknesses of current practices.
• 3. Compare to other places (eg. other countries,
  jurisdictions) to determine if solutions are
  transferable to BC.
• 4. Hold a conference on issues and solutions to
  successful management under mixed ownerships

41
Goal 6
Subgroup Stewardship

• To increase capacity to incorporate Aboriginal
  values, knowledge, decision-making into forest
  policy and management practices and broaden First
  Nation economic benefits and resource sharing
  opportunities.

Problem statement 6
We lack the capacity to integrate Aboriginal
Rights and Title and issues which include
indigenous knowledge, decision-making, economic
benefits and resource sharing into forest policy
management and practice
42
Strategies
Subgroup Stewardship

• 1. To pilot First Nations approaches (eg.
  Knowledge, decision-making and management
  practices and use of products) on the ground at
  the landscape and stand level
• 2. To involve First Nations, industry,
  government, and research organizations (eg.
  SIFERP) in pilots.
• 3. SIFERP type network organization for
  Aboriginal people

43
Principles
44
Principles

• FRBC should revamp the research program approval
  process to incorporate regional equity and First
  Nations participation in the evaluation and
  ranking process.
• FRBC needs to put a high priority on allocating
  sufficient funding to sustain and maintain
  existing high quality longterm research trials,
  especially in recognition of existing investments

45
Principles

• Because BC has a wide range and diversity of
  forest types at a provincial and global scale,
  FRBC and the province (including
  government/non-government) must put a high
  priority on developing forest practice techniques
  to sustain the unique ecology of BCs forest
  eco-systems, for certification, international
  standards and ecological objectives

46
Principles

• There needs to be more strategic thinking by an
  interdisciplinary provincial group to ensure we
  build on existing information in the social and
  economic sciences (eg.expanding SIFERP group to
  provincial level)
• Within the project approval process there has
  been a problem with fragmentation of research
  initiatives. The new call for proposals should be
  designed to enhance linkages among funded
  projects.

47
Principles

• Information should be distributed in a way that
  access and understanding within a broad community
  is possible.
• For example call for proposals, FRBC Objectives
  and research results