Where do we go from here

1
NB Forestry Directions

• Where do we go from here?

2
Critique of the Jaakko Pöyry Report
Objectives of this Presentation

• What was good in the Jaakko Pöyry Report
• What was inadequate
• Recommendations for improving forestry in New
  Brunswick

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
3
JP Report What was good?

• Initiated a debate about forest policy and forest
  management
• Called for a more efficient and effective
  approach to forest management
• Recommended focus on managing for results

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
4
JP Report What was wrong?

• Objectives
• Focus
• Methodology
• Gaps and Errors

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
5
Objectives

• The objectives of the study are too narrow (only
  volumes, only crown land)
• There is no explicit or implicit statement of the
  objectives of NB society
• The Ministers Questions do not state or
  clearly imply the goals of the NB government

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
6
Focus

• The focus of the report was on
• Timber supply in terms of quantity, not quality
  or value or forest structures
• Spruce/Fir, not all species
• Crown forests there was nothing in the report
  about the role or the management of New Brunswick
  private forests

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
7
Methodology

• The methods and processes in the study were not
  appropriate for the (limited) objectives of the
  report
• The focus on Spruce/Fir and on volume means that
  the study did not even try to achieve the
  purported study objectives
• The authours talk about value added for Finland
  so why is value-based analysis not undertaken for
  New Brunswick?

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
8
Gaps and Errors

• Ignored need for policies for and management of
  forests beyond the license level (all crown
  forest, all forests in the province)
• No clear recommendation that all objectives must
  be explicitly described, and then monitored and
  controlled
• Certification is seen as a panacea, particularly
  as a way to reduce government costs
• Several statements and conclusions are not
  justified or contradict information presented

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
9
Conclusions

• The Jaakko Pöyry Report
• Did not have the right objectives or focus
• Employed flawed methodology to achieve its
  (flawed) objectives
• Made assertions and came to conclusions not
  supported by its own data and information
• But, to its credit, it DID
• Call for more efficient and effective management
• Call for a greater focus on planning, monitoring
  and controlling for objectives
• Initiate a long overdue public debate

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
10
Recommendations

• New Brunswick Sustainable Forest Management
  advisory board to investigate and recommend
  goals, policies and processes
• Coherent structure and ongoing process of policy
  and strategy development starting at
  province-wide level
• Integrated planning, implementation and
  monitoring at the provincial, crown lands and
  license levels
• Improved forest management processes that focus
  on results

E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.
11
The best way to predict the future
is to create it!
E.W. Ted Robak, RPF, P.Eng.