Toward forest management that is integrated, decentralized
and transparent
Québec, December 14, 2004
– The Commission for the study of public forest management
in Québec has proposed new methods to better integrate
the multiple uses of forest resources, to bring decision-making
centres closer to regional and local communities and to increase
transparency.
These are some of the highlights from the
report made public today by the Commission, which was chaired
by Guy Coulombe.
During the public hearings, several participants
called for a decentralization of land-use management and planning,
and more power for regional managers of the ministère
des Ressources naturelles, de la Faune et des Parcs (MRNFP).
For their part, the Conférences régionales des
élus (CRÉ) strongly emphasized their desire
for a true regionalization of forest management and one that
is better adapted to each community’s specific situation.
“The public is asking for in-depth
change”, said one of the Commission members, Jules Arsenault.
“The rhythm must obviously keep pace with the capacity
of the players and institutions to affect it, but I think
Quebecers can successfully move from a normative centralized
forest management system to one that is more decentralized,
based on the integrated management of resources and better
tailored to local and regional particularities.”
In its report, the Commission stresses that
access to relevant and quality information, along with the
ability to respect multiple points of view, are key elements
for true participation by local and regional stakeholders.
It also points out that the specific situation of First Nation
communities must give rise to special measures, namely those
that will deal with the aspects of communication, participation
and regional cooperation when planning and carrying out forest
management activities.
All this will only be possible to the extent
that processes are credible and transparent, with one of the
main goals being to regain the public’s trust in the
forest sector. The Commission therefore formulated several
recommendations pertaining to organizational structure.
The Commission specifically proposes establishing,
through new legislation, the position of “Chief Forester.”
This person would, among other things, be in charge of providing
relevant information to the public, the Minister responsible
for forests and agencies involved in the forest sector, so
informed choices can be made concerning the use of forest
resources in a perspective of sustainable development. This
Chief Forester would also be responsible for providing direction,
especially when it comes to the preparation of regional forest
management plans and the methods the MRNFP’s regional
offices would use to determine the maximum sustainable yield
in each forest management unit. The Chief Forester would be
empowered to set the annual allowable cut in each territorial
unit, in a perspective of multi-resource management, and would
be accountable to the public for decisions made.
In a context where the sharing of powers
and responsibilities between the state and local and regional
authorities must be better established when it comes to forest
management, the Commission recommends that the CRÉs
be appointed as the political and regional agencies responsible
for implementing “regional forest commissions,”
approving “regional forest management plans” and
approving intensive sylvicultural programs as well as inhabited
forest projects.
The Commission therefore sees a key role
and associated powers for the CRÉs, when it comes to
the important decisions related to forest resource management,
as much within the region as with the MRNFP. To handle these
new responsibilities, the CRÉs must be given the financial
and human resources they need. It is therefore proposed that
the professional and technical personnel of the MRNFP’s
regional offices and of the various regional county municipalities
(MRCs) be called upon to contribute in some way. The Commission
also recommends that, for all of Québec, an annual
budget of $2.5 million, which would come from the readjustment
of the MRNFP’s overall budget, be made available to
the CRÉs. This money should serve to provide local
stakeholders with analysis and expertise services so they
can document problem areas so as to foster discussions, harmonization
of resource uses and concerted action among interested parties.
As for regional forest commissions, their
main mission would be to prepare the regional forest management
plans, renewed every five years, and to support the CRÉs
in overseeing the process for defining and operating “local
planning agencies” within every forest management unit.
They would also be responsible for producing “integrated
forest management plans,” coordinating management work
carried out by accredited companies, and ensuring forest practices
certification.
One of the changes proposed by the Commission
would mean that every public forest management unit in Québec
would have a single planning entity. It would take into account
the entire territory’s resources, in a perspective of
concerted action and integrated management. This entity could
vary in its form, depending on the will of local and regional
stakeholders. Such an approach would facilitate certification
initiatives and, as a result, the Commission recommends that
all public forest management units in Québec be engaged
in a forest practices certification process by the end of
2007.
For the control and monitoring of management
activities, the Commission also made a series of recommendations
that would pave the way toward achieving objectives-based
management. For example, the MRNFP would clearly define the
evaluation framework of the forest management system and identify
the indicators underlying the monitoring and control it must
ensure as the owner-manager of public forests.
The Commission also looked at some technical
issues, in particular the one of wood scaling. The brief examination
of this issue did not uncover any major problems. However,
the doubts expressed by various groups concerning the reliability
and impartiality of the current scaling system are definitely
real and it would be in everyone’s best interest to
lay these doubts to rest. Although the Commission concluded
that, at least for the present time, it is not necessary to
take the responsibility of scaling wood away from processing
mill permit holders, it nevertheless makes some recommendations
for more transparency. Among them, it recommends that from
now on, all merchantable and non-merchantable wood harvested
in public forests be scaled, including stems with a diameter
of 9 cm and under, and that the stumpage fees from these small
stems be collected directly by government.
Among the some 80 recommendations tabled
by the Commission, one also calls for the naming of a “Forest
Auditor” who would be linked to the office of the Québec
Auditor General. The Commission indicates that this proposal
must be analyzed in light of the draft bill, tabled in November
2004, which would result in the appointment of a sustainable
development commissioner.
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