Sustainable Forestry Extension for Small Tenures

Project Abstract:
Small tenures, such as aboriginal, woodlots, and community forests, have unique challenges in managing for stand to forest landscape-level goals. There is a need for synthesis and extension of knowledge specific to the management of small tenures. A start towards fulfilling this need was made in 2006-07 through drafting 5 extension notes specific to small tenures, and an upgrade of the Private Woodland Planner which would be posted on the Small Woodlands and FORREX websites. This year’s activities include outreach and peer assistance to small tenures, final publication the 5 small tenures extension notes, and updating the Private Woodland Planner on the FORREX website.

In response to the provincial government’s requirement that all companies and individuals working in BC forests must be properly trained in safety procedures, FORREX supported the BC Community Forest Association (BCCFA) in producing a draft Safety Working Paper for community forests in 2006-07. The safety needs of community forest operations are unique and they need their own set of guidelines. This draft paper will be a new chapter in the Community Forestry Guidebook, previously published by FORREX and BCCFA. The activities this year are publishing a revised Community Forestry Guidebook with the new Safety chapter, and organizing a session at the BCCFA conference in June 2007 to discuss the Safety Working Paper.

FORREX, in 2006-07, partnered with researchers from SFU and UBC, and the BCCFA in submitting a two-year proposal (2007-09) to the Sustainable Forest Management Network on institutional arrangements for community forests. The proposal intends to research desirable legal, administrative, and structural options for community and aboriginal forest management in the context of the challenges and opportunities that aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in BC currently face. As a partner, FORREX would be expected to facilitate the synthesis and dissemination of the research to policy makers, forest managers and communities. Upon approval of the proposal, FORREX would take the lead in organizing two workshops in 2007-08. The first workshop early in the research (around the spring of 2007) will have representatives from community forests and researchers from SFU and UBC participating. This workshop will define the learning objectives, research goals, methods, and activities, and methods of knowledge exchange. The second workshop in the fall of 2007 will be held to present preliminary findings. This workshop would likely include MOFR and other community forests interested in hearing the initial results. FORREX would take the lead in publishing two LINK articles to disseminate the results of the workshops to a wide audience.

For further information on this project, please contact ajit.krishnaswamy@forrex.org.