Silvicultural practices at the pace of global changes: a public policy challenge

In the face of global changes, the scientific community is actively developing solutions to respond to the pressures on forest ecosystems and, more broadly, on territories. In order to be implemented, the innovative silvicultural practices that result from these research initiatives will have to integrate the various legislative frameworks that govern forestry practices. In Canada, this involves the provincial and federal levels. In this research project, we will attempt to answer the following question: How can new forestry practices be linked to global changes? More specifically, the research objective is to understand the regulatory and social context of forestry practices in Canada. To achieve this, an analysis of public policies in six provinces will be conducted. We will also look at the influence of international organizations on national and regional forest policies. This research is part of the Silva21 partnership, which includes 11 study areas in six provinces (British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland-Labrador). For these areas, we will develop different socio-economic portraits for each forest case study. The methodologies envisioned to meet the project's objectives are part of public policy analysis. The expected results will take various forms. First, it is expected to produce scientific articles for Canadian forestry professionals (approximately one per province or per region: West, Ontario-Quebec and Maritimes). The case studies will document local realities for use by all Silva 21 members to present the social and political context of the study areas. Finally, one or two scientific articles will be developed for the scientific community specialized in public policy and/or forest governance.

Anne Bernard, PDF at Université Laval
Main Partner: Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (Québec)
Professor Alexis Achim
Collaborator Maude Flamand-Hubert