Synthesis of Social, Economic, and Cultural Information Needed for Sustainable Natural Resource Management

Project Abstract:
The priority areas for the synthesis of socio-economics and cultural information during the year will be public participation, economic development, land-use planning models, and First Nations economic sustainability. A synthesis paper on public involvement will be drafted during the year. The paper will identify the legal requirements and constraints to public involvement. It will also identify opportunities where the public can get involved in natural resource management in BC, and will include Ministry of Forests and Range business process mapping to identify stages where the public can get involved. This synthesis was requested by the Socio-economics Extension Working Group (SEEWG). An extension note on local and regional economic development or land-use planning models used in Canada and other parts of the world that could be used in BC, (especially in the coast) will be prepared as a draft. An extension note on First Nations economic sustainability in Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) impacted communities will be published in JEM. This extension note was prepared as a draft during the last fiscal year. Another synthesis document on the First Nations cultural context to the MPB infestation will be published in an indigenous-specific journal. This document was also prepared as a draft in the previous fiscal year. A LINK article on the FIA-FSP project on the valuation of old-growth forests in the Lower Mainland will be published. An activity under this project is partnering the Centre for Non-timber Resources (CNTR) in synthesizing information on Non-timber Forest Products (NTFPs). Work will also continue on synthesis documents as a follow-up from the First Nations Mountain Pine Beetle Initiative (FNMPBI) "Getting in the Game" opportunities forum held in January 2009.

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