Forest Policy Resources Web Site This site is hosted by the Department
of Forest Resources Management in the Faculty
of Forestry at UBC, under the direction
of Professor George
Hoberg. The purpose of the site is to provide a forest policy resource, from a variety of perspectives, on the topics that make up the field of forest policy. We include links to organizations involved in forest policy, as well as to a number of specific documents. Because of our location, we have a focus on British Columbia, but we also include resources from other jurisdictions. Our long-term goal is to provide much broader and deeper coverage from other jurisdictions.
The forest policy resources are organized by their region, affiliation and topic. You can access the resources through the top menus. Most topics also have "hot links" that we have selected for their relevance to the topic or their recent prominence in current events.
If you are aware of resources that should be added to this web site please
email George Hoberg.
For additional information on forest policy in British Columbia see:
Issue briefs are written by experts in the field to provide a substantive overview of the issue. Each issue brief provides multiple perspectives on the issue(s) and contains links to further reading.
The Beetle Challenge: An Overview of the Mountain Pine Beetle Epidemic and its Implications
The current mountain pine beetle outbreak in the interior region of British Columbia is the largest in recorded history. The scale and intensity of the epidemic pose massive economic, environmental, and social challenges to the province. The infestation is projected to kill 80 per cent of merchantable and susceptible lodgepole pine across the province, BC’s most commercially important tree species. Thus far, the epidemic has been concentrated in British Columbia, and is starting to spill over into Alberta’s lodgepole pine forests and western states. If the infestation spreads to jack pine, boreal forests across Canada may be at risk. This website is designed to be a guide to the Mountain Pine Beetle epidemic and the challenges it presents.
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The BC Liberals “New Era of Sustainable Forestry”: A Progress Report
 The forest sector in British Columbia has been in a protracted crisis for over seven years. The BC Liberals were elected in an extraordinary landslide in May 2001, receiving an unprecedented 77 of 79 seats in the provincial legislature, and decimating the New Democratic Party that had ruled the province for the previous decade. Under the leadership of Premier Gordon Campbell, the Liberals were sworn into office on June 5, 2001 with an ambitious mandate for policy change. In forestry, their New Era campaign document contained a 12-point plan designed to restore competitiveness to the sector. This issue brief provides an overview of the government forest policy agenda, and a report on their progress after three years of effort. The brief is an updated extract from a previous public lecture.
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The Great Bear Rainforest: Peace in the Woods?
On April 4, 2001 a landmark agreement was brokered with the hope of resolving the conflict over land use in the Central and North Coast of British Columbia – a region dubbed the "Great Bear Rainforest" by environmentalists (location ). Environmentalists cheered, claiming the province had gone “from global pariah to eco-hero in one day.” But a number of outstanding issues remained to be resolved, and the agreement needed to go through formal governmental processes. On December 11, 2003, over two and a half years later, discussions at the Central Coast Land and Resource Management Plan (CCLRMP) completion table have concluded, with consensus achieved and the final report and recommendations submitted to government for approval. How were the combatants able to come to an agreement, and how far have they gone towards the goal of reaching a durable peace in this latest manifestation of the “war in the woods”? This analysis seeks to address these questions.
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The Working Forest Initiative: Contentious Certainty and the Status Quo
The Working Forest Initiative (WFI) is one of the more contentious policies to arise from the Liberal Government's 12-point plan to restore competitiveness to the forestry sector. Remarkable for its ability to polarize viewpoints, the WFI has been heralded as the key to restoring wealth to the land base and at the same time derided as the most sweeping, anti-environmental legislation in the history of British Columbia. This brief provides an overview of the Working Forest proposal, reaction to the proposal, and analysis of the potential impacts the WFI may have on the management of forest resources.
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