Time for change: Learning from community forests to enhance the resilience of multi-value forestry in British Columbia, Canada

Abstract

Forests around the world are experiencing the cumulative effects of rapid social and environmental change. Building resilience in the forestry sector has thus become of major importance in many countries, including Canada. While British Columbia (BC) generates the highest revenue from the forestry sector in Canada, the planning and management of forests in this province face several limitations that hinder the application of resilience thinking in a fully integrated way that accounts not only for ecosystem processes but also the close interconnection between forests and people. Community forestry in BC provides experience gained over 20 years that can form the basis for a more holistic, long-term approach to enhance the resilience of forested landscapes. Based on interviews with managers of 5 case study community forests (CFs), and a survey of all CFs in BC over three consecutive years, we present pilot practices to manage forests for resilience at the stand- and landscape-levels. Findings show that these practices mainly focus on (1) age and species diversification, (2) introduction of more drought-tolerant species, (3) systematic long-term monitoring of productivity and forest health, (4) wildfire risk management, and (5) introduction of enhanced silviculture such as thinning, rehabilitation and fertilization. Between 2016 and 2018, 38 CFs in BC invested more than CAD 4.5 million in enhanced silvicultural practices using their own funds. The area-based tenure of CFs motivated not only long-term planning and investment, but also shifted the mindset among residents towards a more multi-functional and dynamic view of the forest. Building adaptive capacity and social license, CFs foster a future where forest health and community well-being are compatible. These lessons can be scaled to BC and other forested landscapes in Canada and around the world. Scaling mechanisms include: (1) facilitating knowledge exchange; (2) increasing multi-stakeholder collaboration; (3) replication and mainstreaming of effective practices; (4) rethinking the forest tenure system; and (5) systematic research and monitoring to learn from pilot studies that could inform strategic interventions with landscape-scale impact. Multi-functional forests which are increasingly affected by climate change and novel disturbances could particularly benefit from the insights shared in this paper to build social-ecological resilience.