Research

Sustainable forest management is not just ecological or biological, but also economic and social.

Sustainable Communities

What is a forest-dependent community, and how can we measure its well-being?

Ideas about community stability have changed dramatically from the time when a company would move in and out of an area with little thought of the consequences. Now forest managers are seeking ways to make communities less susceptible to boom and bust and attempting to understand how much the forest can provide.

The Program

A CFS researcher has developed guidelines for defining and monitoring community stability (poverty rates, income distribution and population migration, among others). Also involved were the Sustainable Forest Management Network Centres of Excellence, Weldwood of Canada, Ltd., and the Foothills Model Forest.

A set of local level indicators of sustainable forest management, which includes indicators of the sustainability of forest communities has been developed. Weldwood is using these indicators to help construct its business plan and to monitor the performance of its forest resource managers.

Don Laishley, the recently-retired director of forest strategy at Weldwood, who was part of the decision to undertake this research, sees a clear connection between healthy communities and sustainable forest management. "Weldwood has a very large commitment to its employees," he says. "If a company's workforce is not stable, it is going to lose productivity."

CFS S&T Network Partners:

• Weldwood of Canada, Ltd.
• Sustainable Forest Management Network Centres of Excellence
• Foothills Model Forest

For more information, please contact:

Dr. Tom Beckley
Research Scientist

Canadian Forest Service
Atlantic Forestry Centre
P.O. Box 4000
1350 Regent Street
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5P7

Telephone: (506) 452-3444
Fax: (506) 452-2495
e-mail: tbeckley@nrcan.gc.ca

or the CFS centre nearest you.