Status update on the working roundtable on forests
By Nelson Daily Staff
The Provincial government is reporting that over 100 actions have been completed or are underway in response to the March 2009 Working Roundtable on Forestry.
Examples of progress in response to roundtable recommendations include:
• Twenty-seven local governments have adopted Wood First resolutions, bylaws or policies requiring wood be considered as the primary building material in municipally funded buildings since the Wood First Act came into effect.
• Sixty-eight midrise, wood-frame buildings planned around B.C. because of changes to the B.C. Building Code that increased the limit on wood-frame construction from four storeys to six.
• The release of a draft forest carbon offset protocol to leverage the large area and diversity of B.C.’s forests in carbon credits. Forestry activities in the draft protocol include planting trees, restoring forests, harvesting and managing forests in new ways, and protecting sensitive areas from development.
Formed in March 2008, the Working Roundtable on Forestry released its report one year later with 29 recommendations aimed at all forest sector stakeholders to achieve “a vibrant, sustainable, globally competitive forest industry that provides enormous benefits for current and future generations and for strong communities.”
The Roundtable Report set six priorities to help achieve the vision:
1. A commitment to using wood first.
2. Growing trees, sequestering carbon, and ensuring that land is available from which to derive a range of forest products.
3. Creating a globally competitive, market-based operating climate.
4. Embracing innovation and diversification.
5. Supporting prosperous rural forest economies.
6. First Nations becoming full partners in forestry.
A January 2011 status update on recommendations from the Working Roundtable on Forestry is now available at: www.for.gov.bc.ca/mof/forestry_roundtable
This is the third progress report to be released by government. Copies of the original report and the two previous status updates are also available online.
