Including aboriginal issues in forest planning: A case study in central interior British Columbia, Canada

Melanie K. Karjala, Stephen M. Dewhurst

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

23 Scopus citations

Abstract

Generic criteria and indicator (C&I) frameworks have been the focus of recent work on sustainable forest management. These templates, however, may not be an appropriate approach for directing landscape-level forest management strategies. Instead, many argue that sustainable management should be determined using "bottom-up" approaches rather than standardized frameworks. This requires engaging local expertise in defining sustainability. Having a culturally distinct form of local knowledge, Aboriginal communities have an important role to play in decision-making processes. However, conventional participatory approaches, such as generic C&I frameworks and multi-stakeholder planning processes, are often inappropriate for engaging Aboriginal involvement. We suggest that landscape-level forest planning should highlight rather than assimilate cultural perspectives on sustainable forest management. Using the co-managed John Prince Research Forest in central interior British Columbia as a case study, this paper presents the results of using C&I and a scenario planning approach to describe an Aboriginal perspective of good forest stewardship. These results demonstrate that, in contrast with existing C&I frameworks, locally-based sustainability criteria provide better guidance for developing and adapting landscape-level forest plans.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-17
Number of pages17
JournalLandscape and Urban Planning
Volume64
Issue number1-2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2003

Keywords

  • Criteria and indicators
  • Forest planning
  • Indigenous people

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation
  • Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

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