Socio-economics Information and Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Project Abstract:
A founding pillar of sustainable development of natural resources is social and economic sustainability. All activities to be undertaken in this project are designed to develop the capacity of natural resource practitioners to access and use the best available social and economic science-based information. Community leaders, planners, and business leaders need access to social and economic science, and the ability to apply that knowledge in strategy development, planning and implementation. Other activities will enable the exchange of expertise from British Columbia to international audiences, and vice versa. A workshop for natural resource managers using the Social Science in Natural Resource Management (SSNRM) Curriculum Series on the Basics of Public Participation will be delivered, building on . pilot testing from the last fiscal year. Partnerships will be established with the Association of BC Professional Foresters (ABCFP) and the Natural Resource Sector Continuous Learning Forum to work towards building the competency of professional foresters to use social science in their work. Two meetings of the Socio-economics Extension Working Group (SEEWG) are planned during the year. The Working Group, made up of 20 members from diverse backgrounds and expertise, all leaders in the use or production of social science knowledge, is expected to be a pivotal group central to building socio-economics capacity in the province. Presentations will be delivered on various topics, including a paper at the World Forestry Congress (WFC) to be held in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Oct. 18-25, 2009. The theme of this Congress is the social, ecological and economic aspects of sustainable forestry management (SFM) in a local, regional and world context. The paper will focus on the ways forestry extension in BC (using socio-economics extension as a case-study) is helping make BC a global leader in SFM innovation and will result in knowledge-exchange mutually beneficial to BC practitioners and the global forestry community. At least two LINK articles will be produced summarizing key messages from the Congress.

The Program will develop and deliver a series of five electronic lectures on social science in partnership with the Canadian Institute of Forestry (CIF). Members from the CIF and the Association of BC Professional Foresters (ABCPF), and staff from the Ministry of Forests and Range are expected to participate in the lectures.

For further information on this project, please contact Ajit.Krishnaswamy@forrex.org.