Conservation Planning
Forest products companies, along with other stakeholders including communities, environmental non-government organizations (ENGOs), and other organizations, commonly engage in priority-setting to conserve biological diversity, although each organization often approaches it differently (e.g., data, methods, criteria, scales, targets).
The relative ecological effects of various planning approaches are often debated by Canadian forestry sector stakeholders and can have important effects on forest management decisions and wood supplies. Outcomes of interest often vary among stakeholders and depend on their perceptions of the social, economic, and ecological aspects of sustainable forestry. Conservation planning approaches incorporate science to help define appropriate objectives, as well as in the development of practical ways in which these objectives can be achieved.
Forest management in Canada has undergone a period of redefinition that has led to the development of new models to conciliate cost-effective wood production with biodiversity conservation and long-term forest productivity. Emulation of natural disturbance is often employed as a strategy for conserving biodiversity in managed forests. Exploring the validity and limitations of this concept in various circumstances and applications has been a major theme in forest ecosystems research in recent decades.
The use and application of conservation planning is a hotly debated topic in sustainable forest management. It is NCASI’s goal to provide sound scientific approaches and reliable data and tools to help inform this discussion.
NCASI Resources on Conservation Planning
The Role of Forest Management in Maintaining Conservation Values. Technical Bulletin No. 0983
Managing Elements of Biodiversity in Sustainable Forestry Programs: Status and Utility of NatureServe’s Information Resources to Forest Managers. Technical Bulletin No. 0885
Defining Old-Growth in Canada and Identifying Wildlife Habitat in Old-Growth Boreal Forest Stands. Technical Bulletin No. 0909
Fragmentation in the Boreal Forest and Possible Effects on Terrestrial Life. Technical Bulletin No. 0959