To log or not to log? How forestry fits with the goals of First Nations in British Columbia

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 639-646 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Nikolakis ◽  
Harry Nelson
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Forest Harvesting ◽  
Effective Governance ◽  
Forest Tenure ◽  
Expected Benefits ◽  
The Government ◽  
Forest Values ◽  
The Individual

Commercial forestry has played an important role in the Canadian economy. Yet, First Nations (FNs) communities have not shared equitably in the benefits. Since 2002, the government of British Columbia (BC) has actively sought to address this inequity by increasing the volume of forest harvesting tenures to FNs. The rationale is that rights to harvest will also enhance economic and then social outcomes, as well as address broader legal and political disputes. However, whether these rights can translate into the expected benefits has received little attention. This paper seeks to help address this knowledge gap by interviewing FNs experts and forestry professionals in BC to understand the long-term goals of FNs in forestry, to strategically evaluate how (and if) opportunities from forestry arise, and to identify institutional factors that influence successful participation in forestry. What we found is that forest tenure can promote economic outcomes, but it often comes at the expense of other intrinsic forest values. We conclude that a rights-based approach alone will not achieve the diverse outcomes related to forestry without effective governance by FNs to evaluate and capitalize on the opportunity in ways that are legitimate to the individual community’s values.

Achieving Efficiency in Environmental Assessment Through Focused Selection of Valued Components

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ward Prystay ◽  
Andrea Pomeroy ◽  
Sandra Webster
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Environmental Assessments ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
The Government ◽  
Selection Of

Some of the largest oil and gas projects in Canada are currently being proposed in British Columbia. Establishing a fulsome and scientifically and socially defensible scope for environmental assessments in the oil and gas sector is a serious challenge for government and proponents. The approach taken by the federal National Energy Board to scope effects assessments on pipelines is quite different than the approach taken by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office on other types of oil and gas projects. The NEB has published guidelines for scoping and conducting environmental and socio-economic assessments within its Filing Manual (National Energy Board [NEB] 2014). This manual sets out the expectations for scoping, baseline information, and effects assessments to be submitted as part of approval applications. Proponents are expected to provide all information necessary to meet the guidelines. In British Columbia, the environmental assessment process is dictated by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act and includes a negotiated terms of reference for the assessment, called the Application Information Requirements (AIR). The approach to selection of valued components is guided by provincial guidelines (EAO, 2013). The first draft of the AIR is prepared by the proponent and is then amended to address matters raised by federal and provincial agencies, local governments, and representatives of potentially affected First Nations. Through two to three revisions, the scope of assessment is jointly established and then formally issued by the government. While there are valid reasons for the differing federal and provincial approaches to scoping environmental assessments, each of these processes create risks for proponents in terms of project timelines and costs for preparing the environmental assessment. More specifically, the use of generic and negotiated guidelines can result in a number of issues including: • A scope of assessment that is broader than necessary to understand the potential for significant adverse effects • Inclusion of issues that are “near and dear” to a specific regulator or community but has no direct relationship to the effects of the project itself • Selection of valued components that do not allow for defensible quantification of effects or use of directly relevant significance thresholds • Selection of valued components that are only of indirect concern as opposed to focusing the assessment on the true concern. • Double counting of environmental effects • Risks in assessing cumulative effects This paper discusses where and how these risks occur, and provides examples from recent and current environmental assessments for pipelines and facilities in British Columbia. Opportunities to manage the scope of assessment while providing a fulsome, efficient, effective and scientifically/socially defensible assessment are discussed.

“This Is Going to Affect Our Lives”: Exploring Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the Government of Canada and British Columbia’s New Relationship Through the Implementation of the Maa-nulth Treaty

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sloan Morgan ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
150Th Anniversary ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

AbstractCanada celebrated its 150th anniversary since Confederation in 2017. At the same time, Canada is also entering an era of reconciliation that emphasizes mutually respectful and just relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown. British Columbia (BC) is uniquely situated socially, politically, and economically as compared to other Canadian provinces, with few historic treaties signed. As a result, provincial, federal, and Indigenous governments are attempting to define ‘new relationships’ through modern treaties. What new relationships look like under treaties remains unclear though. Drawing from a comprehensive case study, we explore Huu-ay-aht First Nations—a signatory of the Maa-nulth Treaty, implemented in 2011—BC and Canada’s new relationship by analysing 26 interviews with treaty negotiators and Indigenous leaders. A disconnect between obligations outlined in the treaty and how Indigenous signatories experience changing relations is revealed, pointing to an asymmetrical dynamic remaining in the first years of implementation despite new relationships of modern treaty.

Farmers' attitudes towards sustainable agriculture issues and environmental quality in a selected area of Bangladesh

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Z. Rahman ◽  
H. Mikuni
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Development ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Productivity Loss ◽  
Favorable Attitude ◽  
Agricultural Technologies ◽  
Aquatic Life ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
High Level

AbstractThe sustainability issues associated with agricultural development are a growing concern worldwide. This study focussed on farmers' attitudes about environmental degradation and long term productivity loss that may result from implementation of modern agricultural technologies. The study was conducted in a selected area of Bangladesh and field level data were collected from the sampled farmers through personal interviewing. Findings revealed that more than two-thirds of the farmers confronted either a medium or high level of environmental problems due to intensive cultivation. Their main concerns were stress on soil fertility, loss of essential aquatic life, and reduction of earthworms and other beneficial organisms in soil. The farmers' recommended solutions were production of high yielding crop varieties with conservation management practices, and the balanced use of chemical fertilizers and organic manures. To apply these techniques, the top expectation of the farmers was to receive subsidies for agricultural inputs, and get easy-term credit from the government or non-government organizations. Interestingly, just half the farmers in the study area possessed a less than favorable attitude towards sustainability issues of agricultural development. In other words, to them these issues were of low or marginal priority. Only 6% of them expressed a highly favorable attitude (high priority) and 44% expressed a moderate attitude. Based on correlations, the individual farmer's age, education, family size, organizational participation, television exposure, communication behavior and environmental problem confrontation were identified as the main determinants of their attitudes about sustainability issues. Hence, these factors should be considered when formulating programs and policies for agriculture development that aim for long-term sustainability.

scholarly journals Conflict transformation and collaboration in developing social forestry in Flores, Indonesia

2022 ◽  
pp. 40-66
Author(s):  
Prudensius Maring
Keyword(s):  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Conflict Transformation ◽  
Social Forestry ◽  
Forest Land ◽  
Forest Sustainability ◽  
Forest Tenure ◽  
The Government ◽  
Forestry Programs

Social movements to realize forest tenure reforms have been ongoing since the 1970s, particularly through policies under the broad umbrella of social forestry. In Indonesia, social forestry programs  are initiated by the government, communities, NGOs, academics, companies, and donors, and are based on specific socio-economic and ecological interests. Weak synergies, however between programmatic implementation and stakeholder interests, triggers various forest tenure conflicts. The research examines the complexity of these conflicts, namely focusing around the approaches to conflict transformation that can lead to collaboration in realizing forest sustainability that also support interests of people living in and around forests. I employed  a qualitative approach by   collecting data through  in-depth interviews and participatory observations in Flores in 2017 and 2020. The results show that forest tenure conflicts have occurred since the 1970s due to state forest territorialization. Conflicts culminated in the determination of state forest area boundaries through the 1984 state program entitled the “consensus-based forest land use planning” initiative. Until 2008, efforts to resolve conflicts by offering the community access rights through  community forestry programs   initiated by the government were rejected by NGOs and the local community.  NGOs facilitated communities to  demand the return of state forest land as  customary forest. This conflict presented the opportunity to facilitate multi-stakeholder forestry programs through a conflict transformation approach by building long-term stakeholder collaboration. Since 2010, the collaboration between stakeholders  took place through the community forest  program. This study shows  the need for more direct attention to studying conflict resolution under an integrated and long-term approach to conflict transformation and collaboration. Pragmatically,  this study shows the importance of integrated social forestry policies that synergize various schemes initiated by stakeholders to realize forest sustainability and support local community interests.

scholarly journals Stochastically Assessing the Financial Sustainability of Individual Accounts in the Urban Enterprise Employees’ Pension Plan in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 3568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaohua Chen ◽  
Zaigui Yang
Keyword(s):  
Pension Plan ◽  
The Self ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Financial Sustainability ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Individual Accounts

Various countries are paying increasing attention to the long-term financial sustainability of pension plans, and the self-balancing ability of such plans is an important index to measure their long-term financial sustainability. This paper explores the financial self-balancing ability of the individual accounts of China’s urban enterprise employees’ pension plan (UEEPPI). In the particularly serious scenario that the individual accounts’ previous accumulated funds are zero, the bookkeeping rate and the investment return rate are considered as stochastic variables in the in-depth analysis of the self-balancing ability of individual accounts, and the effects of two different bookkeeping behaviors are compared. The results indicate that if the government adopts the fixed bookkeeping rate, the individual accounts have an excellent self-balancing ability. If the government adopts a stochastic bookkeeping rate, it can further improve the self-balancing ability of individual accounts. Sensitivity analysis finds that the increase in the wage growth rate can improve the self-balancing ability of individual accounts, but the impact of contribution rate of individual accounts and the contribution wages of recruits create uncertainty. Based on the conclusions, some policy implications are proposed.

The Transition from Welfare to Workfare in Times of Crisis

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-72
Author(s):  
József Hajdú
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Family Policy ◽  
Fundamental Rights ◽  
Social Spending ◽  
Democratic Regimes ◽  
State Obligations ◽  
Fundamental Law ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual

Many of the serious deficiencies in the Hungarian welfare state pre-date the 2010 political changes and a pronounced anti-poverty policy turn was evidently already on its way in 2008, especially concerning income protection for the long-term unemployed. As if this were not enough, according to the OECD, among the thirty-two OECD member states, Hungary and Greece were the only states where real public social spending had decreased since the onset of the economic crisis. More precisely, Hungary’s social policy answer to the crisis included the introduction of workfare, the diminishment of the second pillar pension, the abolishment of early pensions, the activation of family policy, and the encouragement of citizens’ self-support attitude. Moreover, in 2010 a two-thirds majority in parliament gave the government the possibility to enact fundamental changes to Hungary’s Constitution and legislation as a whole. Confronted with the experience of non-democratic regimes and the individual vision of fundamental rights, after the transition, the Fundamental Law indicates a shift of emphasis from state obligations towards individual citizens to citizens’ obligations towards the community.

scholarly journals Scenario planning tools for mitigating industrial impacts on First Nations subsistence economies in British Columbia, Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Natcher ◽  
Naomi Owens-Beek ◽  
Ana-Maria Bogdan ◽  
Xiaojing Lu ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Subsistence Economies ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Planning Tools ◽  
Transmission Pipeline ◽  
The Government

AbstractThe Montney Play Trend (MPT) is a 1090 km2 region in northeast British Columbia that produces approximately one-third of western Canada’s natural gas output. In response to a proposed expansion of the MPT in 2016, the Government of British Columbia launched a Regional Strategic Environmental Assessment (RSEA) to identify the necessary conditions to achieve sustainable environmental outcomes. In this paper, we describe the methods and scenario planning tools that were developed to estimate how the development of the MPT might affect the subsistence economies of First Nations in the region. To demonstrate the utility of our approach, two impact assessments—Prince Rupert gas transmission pipeline and the Coastal GasLink pipeline—are presented. While no scenario can provide a definitive portrayal of exactly what will happen in the future, the tools that were co-developed are serving as an effective starting point for exploring possibilities that are at least consistent with current knowledge and can serve as a platform for collaborative learning and conflict management.

Safety and Quality of Fish and Game Meats Prepared by First Nations Communities in British Columbia, Canada

2020 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 896-901
Author(s):  
PATRICIA HINGSTON ◽  
KEELY JOHNSON ◽  
DAVID KITTS ◽  
SIYUN WANG
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Food Security ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Foodborne Pathogens ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Food Preservation ◽  
Culture Methods ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Preservation Methods

ABSTRACT Canadian First Nations communities rely on traditional preservation methods such as the smoking, drying, and canning of fish and game meats to ensure long-term food security. Unlike commercial food production, there are no recognized official standards for these methods, rendering their efficacy in producing microbiologically safe foods relatively unknown. In this study, 81 fresh or processed fish and game samples obtained from four British Columbia First Nations communities were analyzed for quality indicator microbes, foodborne pathogens, and mineral levels. Aerobic counts, coliforms (CC), Escherichia coli (EC), lactic acid bacteria, Staphylococcus aureus (STA), and yeast and molds (YM) were enumerated using the TEMPO, whereas the presence of E. coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Salmonella were detected using the VIDAS immunoassay system. The opportunistic pathogens Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium were additionally detected using culture methods with subsequent PCR confirmation, and minerals (Ca, Cu, K, Mg, Mn, Na, and Zn) were detected using mass spectrometry. With the exception of STA, microbial loads were significantly (P < 0.05) higher in processed fish and meat samples compared with unprocessed samples, and game samples contained higher microbial levels than fish; however, differences were only significant (P < 0.05) for coliforms, E. coli, and STA. E. coli O157:H7 was detected in one smoked moose sample, and E. faecalis and E. faecium were isolated from 21 and 2 samples, respectively. Although smoked samples contained significantly higher Na levels, they were effective in reducing microbial levels. These results indicate that current food preservation methods practiced by British Columbia First Nations communities are infrequently effective at reducing microbial populations, and in many cases, resulted in increased microbial loads. More efforts should be made to improve the dissemination of safe food handling and processing knowledge to ensure long-term food security and well-being. HIGHLIGHTS

scholarly journals Exploration of attitudes regarding uptake of COVID-19 vaccines among vaccine hesitant adults in the UK: A qualitative analysis.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Denford ◽  
Fiona Mowbray ◽  
Lauren Towler ◽  
Helena Wehling ◽  
Gemma Lasseter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Vaccine Uptake ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
First Results ◽  
Understanding Of Science ◽  
The Government ◽  
Public Health Campaigns ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Uk

Abstract Background The aim of this work was to explore barriers and facilitators to uptake of COVID-19 vaccines and to explore views and reactions to efforts to improve vaccine uptake among those who were vaccine hesitant. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with people between the age of 18-29 years who had not had a COVID-19 vaccine, and those between 30-49 years who have not received a second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (more than 12 weeks after receiving a first). Results A total of 70 participants took part in the study, 35 participants had received one dose of the vaccine, and 35 had not received any vaccine. Participants described a possible willingness to be vaccinated to keep themselves and those around them safe, and to avoid restrictions and return to normal. Barriers to uptake included: 1) perceived lack of need for COVID-19 vaccinations, 2) concerns about the efficacy of vaccinations, 3) concerns about safety 4) access. Uptake appeared to be influenced by the age and health status of the individual, trust in government and knowledge and understanding of science. Introduction of vaccine passes may provide a motive for having a vaccine but may also be viewed as coercive. Conclusion Participants were hesitant, rather than opposed, and had questions about their need for, and the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Young people did not consider themselves to be at risk of becoming ill from COVID-19, did not think the vaccination was effective in preventing infection and transmission, and did not think sufficient research had been conducted with regard to the possible long-term side-effects. These concerns were exacerbated by a lack of trust in the government and misunderstanding of science. In order to promote uptake, public health campaigns should focus on the provision of information from trusted sources that carefully explains the benefits of vaccination and addresses safety concerns more effectively. To overcome inertia in people with low levels of motivation to be vaccinated, appointments must be easily accessible.

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