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 FAQs |
SUSTAINABILITY AND THE WOOD SUPPLYWhat is the current situation with Nova Scotia's wood supply? The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources is indeed our source for forest research in the province and based on that research, the Department has adopted measures to ensure the sustainability of our resources. They are the only group that has all the data required to show the sustainability of current harvest levels. Regulations which require an assurance for silviculture after harvesting, provides for the long term sustainability of forests on Crown, industrial and private lands in Nova Scotia. However, we must realize that our forests continue to come under ever increasing pressure from many different groups who advocate different uses as we take more productive land out of service and add greater environmental safeguards. Productive land being taken out of service is being set aside for protected places, for habitat protection, for protection of water quality, for recreational purposes, for cultural reserves, for green belt areas, for wildlife corridors, and for old growth reserves. Forest land is also disappearing because of conversion to other uses, i.e. agricultural lands, housing and cottage development, and urban sprawl to name a few. It's not just the additional requirements for conservation that are taxing the resource; the shrinking size of the forest land base itself is also a concern. What we need to do as a society is realize that all these interests are valid and what we need to do is to work toward reaching that balance of use that some are suggesting. What must be realized is that society needs to understand industry's need to practice intensive forest management on industrial lands for the purpose of fibre production (much the same as a farmer intensively manages his limited farmland to maximize his yield from each acre). This may well mean that even-aged management will be best suited for fibre production and will then allow us to leave other areas for non-forestry use as desired by society.
Isn't the current rate of harvesting overall in the province unsustainable? Forest management practices are carried out based on science. Harvesting is balanced by a greater emphasis on silviculture. On average, 10,000 hectares of land is planted each year. In recent years, an average of $13 million has been invested in silviculture and forest protection annually on both Crown and private lands. Our decision making process relies on sound research as carried out by the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources. This department information which is always the latest in scientific information tells us based on the most recent harvest levels and current levels of silviculture treatments that harvests are indeed sustainable on both crownlands and industrial lands. Harvest levels on private lands, under current conditions are sustainable, but only marginally so. The harvest on private land is sustainable provided the right stands of timber are harvested at the right time and that adequate silviculture treatments are carried out. Educating landowners on when to harvest is just as important as how to harvest. That is why the need to educate the private landowner, and to make them aware that they have many options (other than clearcutting) when it comes to managing their timber resource is important.
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