Critical Challenges

From newspaper headlines to town halls and local coffee shops – British Columbians are worried about the future of forestry. The future is uncertain. Before we can come together and develop sustainable solutions, we must first address a critical challenge.

Today government-issued cutting permits have slowed to a trickle and there is a rapidly growing gap between the sustainable allowable annual cut and actual harvest levels.

Without reliable and timely access to the AAC, one of government’s few renewable revenue streams dries up. Forestry revenues support the things we hold dear in BC and mean we can afford to pay for the programs, infrastructure and services that we deserve and need.

The fact is it’s not trees versus jobs; it’s quality of life and an allowable annual cut we can all count on.  It’s time government leaders across BC committed to both. Forestry Works for BC. 

The Future of Forestry in BC is Uncertain

British Columbia’s forest sector has drastically contracted, and the future of forestry is uncertain. Harvest levels have dropped by 42% since 2018 and half of BC’s mills have been lost in the last two decades. Factors like mountain pine beetle infestations and wildfires played a role in the past, but today they are not the driving factors.

Over the last six years BC has seen many policy changes that impact the forest sector. In that same timespan, government-issued cutting permits have slowed to a trickle and actual harvest levels are now less than 60% of the sustainable allowable annual cut.

Change is to be expected, but the pace and volume of change has created significant uncertainty in the forest sector. It’s not just the forest companies that are impacted; it’s every British Columbian.

Source: BC AAC and Harvest Levels 2018-2023 – COFI.org

The Cost of Uncertainty

Year after year of policy change means that decision-making on cutting permits has become even more complex for government officials. Rapidly evolving and overlapping government direction means additional uncertainty for those same decision makers and delays in issuing cutting permits.

As a result, there is a significant and growing gap between the sustainable allowable annual cut – set in legislation by the Province’s chief forester – and actual levels. The allowable annual cut has remained stable over the past six years, yet harvesting has fallen by more than 40%.

When harvest levels drop so drastically:

the potential for livable wages drops – people are moving away to pursue a better life elsewhere;
community investment slows – companies are taking their capital to other provinces and countries; and
government revenues decline – governments have less funding in hand to support the programs, services, and infrastructure we deserve and need.

When BC’s forest sector is healthy; we all do better.