Clear-cutting review is timely
But current provincial policy needs a more environmental focus
Steven McNeil’s government will conduct a review of how we practice to conserve and regenerate our provincial forests. It is a timely initiative administered by the Department of Natural Resources. What’s important is that a new policy model be embraced, not just another redundant study of forestry practice.
The review was a provincial election campaign promise that was framed as an upgrade to provincial environmental policy. It is true that our forests feed economic growth. But our forests exist in complex ecosystems, analogous to biospheres not textbook economies. This requires a higher level of resource stewardship to protect and conserve nature’s endowment to Nova Scotians.
Forestry practices tend to go unnoticed by the general public. Most of them take place out of sight and in somewhat remote areas. The most contentious practice is clearcutting, which affects the forest’s balance of growth, wildlife habitat, underground water systems, hiking, fishing and tourism. It especially affects the environmental integrity of the forests themselves namely air, water and soil.
The public believes that clearcutting is conducted with careful supervision and careful planning. That assumption needs to be critically examined as part of this review. Under the current model every single marketable tree is cut down. In the industry itself, clear-cutting is thoughtlessly regarded as the cheapest way to harvest an economically profitable resource.
The economic rationale embraced by the industry is to get the most out of the forest for the lowest possible cost. This was the same rationale used by 17th and 18th century foresters who knew nothing about the science of forestry or the threats of deforestation to global climate stability.
The business dynamic was based on the tyranny of supply and demand not conservation and regeneration. While the science behind forestry has improved dramatically since that time, the practices behind clearcutting have remained relatively primitive.
In the end, clearcutting is profitable for logging companies and the paper industry. But it has negative ecological and social costs. Many of the consequences are irreversible and permanently detrimental to the provincial environment and beyond.
A very high percentage of the wood harvested in Nova Scotia forests (90 per cent) is clear-cut. However, a growing body of scientific opinion has concluded that clearcutting should no longer be used as a universal practice and certainly not without improving government oversight.
This review should demonstrate our commitment to protect the province’s forests and honour the rights of Nova Scotia’s indigenous people. As well, a strategy needs to be developed using clear-cut land to fight potential wildfires.
“The economic rationale embraced by the industry is to get the most out of the forest for the lowest possible cost.”