Abstract
Historically British Columbia’s (B.C.) forests were managed under the implicit assumption that virtually the whole forested land base would, one day, be available for timber production. The B.C. Forest Service and licensees incorporate non-timber values into timber production plans through a process of “integrated resource management” which attempts to consider wildlife, riparian habitat, recreation, water flows, grazing, and other forest uses in each decision about each hectare where logging is to occur. Under this extensive form of management, silvicultural investments are low. This policy has clearly failed either to satisfy legitimate demands from the environmental community or to produce the predictably high levels of timber harvest needed to sustain the forest products industry and industry-dependent communities. The core problem is that, despite a vast forest estate in British Columbia, land has become scarce. It is, therefore, logical to substitute capital, labor, and knowledge for land in forest production processes. Implementing this general economic prescription requires a change in forest management approach to zone the landscape and manage each zone intensively for a specific purpose. For the bulk of commercial timber production, planted forests represent the best technological option. New directions in B.C.'s forest policy -- land-use zoning, a new forest practice code, and the dedication of capital for silvicultural investments -- generally move toward this objective, but implementation remains uncertain. Major impediments include dysfunctional forest tenure arrangements and a comparatively poor information base.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alverson, W.S., Kuhlman, W. and Wallen, D.M. 1994. Wild Forests: Conservation Biology and Public Policy. Island Press, Washington, DC.
Binkley, C.S. 1993. Creating a knowledge-based forest sector. For. Chron. 69: 294–299.
Binkley, C.S. 1994. Adapting to global supply constraints or: Timber famine and six reasons it won't occur, pp. 35–44. In: The globalization of wood: Supply, processes, products and markets, Proceedings No. 7319. Forest Products Society, Madison, WI.
Binkley, C.S. 1995. Designing an effective forest sector research strategy for Canada. For. Chron. 71: 589–595.
Binkley, C.S. 1997. A cross road in the forest: The path to a sustainable forest sector in British Columbia. BC Stud. 113: 39–61.
Binkley, C.S. and Zhang, D. 1994. The impact of timber-fee increases on B.C. forest products companies. Unpublished manuscript. Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Binkley, C.S., Percy, M., Thompson, W.A. and Vertinsky, I.B. 1994. A general equilibrium analysis of the economic impact of a reduction in harvest levels in British Columbia. For. Chron. 70: 449–454.
Binkley, C.S., Raper, C. and Washburn, C.L. 1996. Institutional investment in U.S. timberland: History, motivation and implications for forest management. J. For. 94(9): 21–28.
Birchfield, R.J. and Grant, I.F. 1993. Out of the woods: The restructuring and sale of New Zealand's state forests. GP Publications, Wellington, New Zealand.
Booth, D.L., Boulter, D.W.K., Neave, D.J., Rotherham, A.A. and Welch, D.A. 1993. Natural forest landscape management: A strategy for Canada. For. Chron. 69: 141–145.
Bowes, M.D. and Krutilla, J.V. 1989. Multiple Use Management: The Economics of Public Forestlands. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD.
Farnum, P., Timmis, R. and Kulp, J.L. 1983. The biotechnology of forest yield. Sci. 219: 694–702.
Fight, R.D., Johnson, K.N., Connaughton, K.P. and Sassaman, R.W. 1979. Can intensive management make up the harvest lost when roadless areas are left undeveloped. J. For. 77: 148–151.
Franklin, J.F. 1989. Towards a new forestry. Am. For. 95: 37–44.
Harris, L.D. 1984. The Fragmented Forest. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Leopold, A. 1970. A Sand County Almanac. Ballantine Books, New York.
Lyon, K.S. 1981. Mining of the forest and the time path of the price of timber. J. Envirn. Econ. Manage. 8: 330–344.
McNeely, J.A. 1993. Lessons from the past: Forests and biodiversity. Unpublished manuscript. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.
Nixon, R. 1991. Comparative data charts explain forest management policies. For. Plan. Can. 7: 32–45.
Sahajananthan, S. 1994. Single and multiple use of forest lands in British Columbia: The case of the Revelstoke Forest District. Report submitted to B.C.Ministry of Forests, Revelstoke Forest District.
Swallow, S.K., Parks, P.J. and Wear, D.N. 1990. Policy relevant nonconvexities in the production of multiple forest benefits. J. Envirn. Econ. Manage. 19: 264–280.
Tolnai, S. 1991. Addition value to our heritage through silviculture. Paper presented to Western Silvicultural Contractors Association. Vancouver, British Columbia.
Vincent, J.R. and Binkley, C.S. 1993. Efficient multiple-use forestry may require land-use specialization. Land Econ. 69: 370–376.
Zhang, D. 1994. Implications of tenure for forest land value and management in British Columbia. Ph.D. dissertation. Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Binkley, C.S. Ecosystem management and plantation forestry: new directions in British Columbia. New Forests 18, 75–88 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006506108169
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006506108169