First Nations, forest lands, and “aboriginal forestry” in Canada: from exclusion to comanagement and beyond

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Wyatt

The term “aboriginal forestry” is used increasingly to describe the evolving role of First Nations peoples in Canadian forestry over the last 30 years. This paper reviews a diversity of experiences and identifies issues that have important implications for governments, forest planners, and First Nations: a forestry regime that reflects the interests of governments and industry rather than those of First Nations; variable implementation of aboriginal rights in forestry practice; benefits and problems of economic partnerships; limitations on consultation, traditional knowledge, and comanagement in forestry; and finally, different forestry paradigms. Among these experiences and issues, we recognise different visions for the participation of First Nations peoples in Canadian forestry. At one end of the spectrum, “forestry excluding First Nations” is no longer accepted. The most common form may be “forestry by First Nations,” representing a role for First Nations within existing forestry regimes. Other options include “forestry for First Nations,” in which forest managers seek to incorporate aboriginal values and knowledge in management activities and “forestry with First Nations,” in which aboriginal peoples are equal partners in forest management. However, aboriginal forestry is better understood as a potential new form of forestry that uses knowledge and techniques drawn from both traditions and conventional forestry and is based on aboriginal rights, values, and institutions.

2010 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 730-741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Wyatt ◽  
Jean-François Fortier ◽  
Catherine Martineau-Delisle

Aboriginal peoples in Canada present a special case of citizen involvement in forest governance, with rights and statusthat go beyond those of other stakeholders and individuals. Increasingly, participation processes aimed specifically atAboriginal representatives are being used to encourage their involvement in forest management. This article asks whatwould be the characteristics of a distinct process that could respond to Aboriginal rights, needs and expectations. We doso by combining the results of a broad Québec-wide study with those from a case study of forestry participation in a singlecommunity. A total of 68 consultation processes are analyzed. These experiences enable the identification of severalcharacteristics of consultation processes used for First Nations. We also note that distinct consultations typically reflectthe same practices that are used more generally for public participation in forestry, raising the question of whether or notthese consultations truly respond to Aboriginal rights, needs and expectations in Québec.Key words: Aboriginal peoples, Aboriginal forestry, forest management, public participation mechanisms, duty to consult,Canada


2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-175
Author(s):  
Ian James Urquhart

What has the addition of aboriginal rights to the Canadian constitution in 1982 meant for the place of First Nations’ interests in the Canadian constitutional order? This article considers this question in the context of natural resource exploitation – specifically, the exploitation of the oil or tar sands in Alberta. It details some of the leading jurisprudence surrounding Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982, the section of the Constitution recognizing existing aboriginal and treaty rights. Arguably, Section 35 represented an important effort to improve the status of aboriginal peoples in Canada, to enhance the extent to which Canada included and respected the values and interests of First Nations. The article specifically considers how the judicial interpretation of the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal peoples is related to the theme of inclusivity. It argues that the general thrust of judicial interpretation has promoted a thin, or procedural, version of inclusiveness rather than a substantive, or thicker, one. Such a thicker version of inclusiveness would be one in which the pace of oil sands exploitation is moderated or halted in order to allow First Nations to engage in traditional activities connected intimately with aboriginal and treaty rights.


2006 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 529-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Krcmar ◽  
G C van Kooten ◽  
H. Nelson ◽  
I. Vertinsky ◽  
J. Webb

In this study, we explore alternative strategies available to the Little Red River Cree Nation for meeting their projected socio-economic needs using the natural resources to which they have access. We analyze outcomes from mathematical programming models for various forest policy regimes, ranging from current sustained-yield management to sustainable forest management. The potential outcomes of the two approaches are analyzed using financial returns, harvest volumes and ecological impacts. Results indicate that decision-makers face significant trade-offs in determining an appropriate management strategy for the forest lands they control. Our main conclusion is that economic development strategies for First Nations must diversify away from forest resources in the long run if they are to be successful. Key words: boreal forest, First Nations, forest co-management, forest policy, old growth, sustainability


2020 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 244-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
M A Windmuller-Campione ◽  
M B Russell ◽  
E Sagor ◽  
A W D’Amato ◽  
A R Ek ◽  
...  

Abstract Silvicultural decisions and forest-management practices in Minnesota represent the collaboration and partnership between forest managers from multiple organizations and forest researchers. To better understand current practices, trends, needs, and opportunities, Minnesota has invested in the collection of quantitative data on the application of silvicultural systems and forest-management activities in 1991, 1996, 2008, and 2017. Drawing on those data, the goal of our study is to summarize 26 years of data to characterize and quantify trends in forest-management practices. During this period of time, timberland ownership (acres) has increased, whereas harvested volume has decreased (cords). Across state, federal, county, forest industry, and tribal forest lands, which collectively represent the majority of timberlands in Minnesota, the clearcut system decreased from 91% of the harvested area in 1991 to 72 percent in 2017. In contrast, the proportion of total harvested area as part of shelterwood, seed tree, selection, and thinning treatments all more than doubled from 1991 to 2017. Factors influencing the changes relate to forest health and diseases, shifts in ownership structure, and shifts in organizational policy and/or goals. The factors identified mirror many of the trends forest managers are experiencing in other regions, nationally and internationally.


2012 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 821 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris W. Sanderson, Q.C. ◽  
Keith B. Bergner ◽  
Michelle S. Jones

While the duty to consult fulfils a critically important role in defining, guiding, and developing the interrelationship of the Crown and Aboriginal peoples, the role of the duty to consult, properly understood, is but one of several important elements in the overall scheme of satisfying the Crown’s constitutional duties to Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. The Crown’s duty to consult and, if necessary, accommodate is both important and useful; however, this duty to consult should not be stretched in an attempt to fulfil other roles or serve other purposes. The Crown’s duty to consult coexists with the other elements of the scheme, including the Crown’s fiduciary obligations, treaty obligations, and the obligation to justify infringements of Aboriginal rights and title. This distinction in approach between the duty to consult and substantive Aboriginal rights is more understandable when one clearly distinguishes between the purpose of and the limitations on the Crown’s duty to consult and those of the other elements of the Crown’s obligations to satisfy its constitutional duties to Canada’s Aboriginal peoples.


1999 ◽  
Vol 75 (6) ◽  
pp. 919-927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin E. Sherry ◽  
Chris J. Johnson

That British Columbia's forest industry faces severe environmental, social, and economic problems can be denied by only the most optimistic of forest managers. There is a crisis in our woods and people are looking for permanent solutions. Big, bold ideas are required to guide us out of the morass, including new approaches for allocating forestlands among different uses. Binkley's forestland allocation strategy (FAS) is one such proposal. This scheme, although efficient from an economic perspective, is seriously flawed from an ecological and aboriginal standpoint. These shortcomings render the FAS infeasible. Key words: forest management, forest policy, British Columbia, forestland allocation strategy, wildlife, First Nations


2011 ◽  
Vol 162 (7) ◽  
pp. 209-215
Author(s):  
Jean-François Métraux

In the years since 2000, the authorities in charge of forests in canton Vaud have made some substantial changes as a reaction to the political decisions arising from the Swiss Forest Programme and the projected revision of the Federal forestry Law, as well as to the deterioration of the economic situation in forestry enterprises. This article gives a survey of the directions taken. Thus the canton recognises the primordial role of wood production as a driving force behind the creation of a multifunctional forest. The Service for Forests, Wildlife and Nature has invested a great deal in planning, and has redefined the management plan to be an instrument intended for forest owners and forest managers. The canton has innovated by introducing forestry groups and a scheme of equalisation of forestry costs between communes. Hence the conception of forestry management in canton Vaud is resolutely that of a multifunctional natural heritage.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (09) ◽  
pp. 4802
Author(s):  
Izabel Cristina Santiago Lemos ◽  
Giovana Mendes De Lacerda ◽  
Maysa de Oliveira Barbosa ◽  
Gyllyandeson de Araújo Delmondes ◽  
Patrícia Rosane Leite de Figueiredo ◽  
...  

Traditional knowledge emerges as a relevant figure in care used by mothers and caregivers for the management of acute respiratory infections, diarrhea and anemia. To understand the meaning given to the use of traditional knowledge by mothers or caregivers for the treatment of these illnesses, their reflexes to conventional treatment, as well as discuss the role of health professionals with regard to the use of plants and animals by mothers or responsible for the management the respiratory infections; diarrhea and anemia. The research was conducted in Santo Antônio community (Barbalha - CE). Techniques as “rapport” and “Snowball” were used for data collection, and a closed questionnaire and semi-structured interview were applied. For data analysis, the Collective Subject Discourse (CSD) was used. The sample included 54 informants. There were 19 key ideas identified, which revealed an appreciation of the use of natural resources to treat the respiratory infections; diarrhea and anemia, an association between conventional and traditional medicine in the management these common childhood illnesses and the need for health professionals value the popular knowledge in assistance provided. Health professionals are encouraged to include behaviors in their care practice that allow greater contact with local cultures, being able to measure what resources are used and how they can interfere on the prescribed therapy.


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