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The
Forestry Scene ...
Joseph
C. Whitehead, Western Canada's pioneer publisher in
forestry, lumber and construction, anchors our Forestry
Edition, featuring: Foreign Markets Community
Stability Forest Renewal Fish and Wildlife
Habitat Watershed Management Wood Utilization
Recreation Visual Impact Commercial Values
Inventory Selection Logging Soil
Conservation Monitoring Research
Harvesting Insects and Pesticides Burning
Biological Diversity Public
Participation.
Facts about BC
Forestry
British Columbia, on the
west coast of Canada, has a population of more than 4
million people. The province is internationally renowned
for its rich and abundant forests. British Columbia
encompasses 95 million hectares (234 million acres),
which is about double the size of California or Sweden.
Forests cover about two-thirds of the province. These
forests are central to British Columbia's way of life.
They are vital to the province's economy and provide jobs
for many who live here. Our forests are home to an
abundance of wildlife, provide drinking water and
opportunities for recreation, and speak to B.C.'s
spiritual and cultural
values.
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British Columbia's land-use planning directly involves
communities, local residents and all stakeholders in
resolving land and resource issues.
* The forest sector's contribution
to governments is almost equivalent to the Ministry of
Education's annual Kindergarten to Grade 12 operating
budget.
* 95% of British Columbia's forests
are publicly owned and a provincial
licensing and regulatory system tightly control their
use.
*More than 270,000 British
Columbians -- 14 per cent of the total workforce -- are
employed directly or indirectly by the forest
industry.
*Forestry activity contributes
approximately $17 billion to the province's gross
domestic product (GDP).
*The Ministry of Finance has
concluded, "community dependence on the forest industry
is significant and growing".
* The forest sector supports more
BC communities outside the GVRD than all other business
sectors combined.
*In 31 local areas, containing 270
communities, forest activity accounts for more than 20
per cent of the area's income.
*Forestry activity in BC generates
approximately $4 billion in government revenues
annually.
*In Metro Vancouver alone, forestry
accounts for over 120,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Geographical
Comparison
Overlaid on a map of Europe the forests of Canada would
cover:
* Great Britain,
* Ireland,
* Portugal,
*Spain,
*France,
*The Netherlands,
*Belgium,
*Luxembourg,
*Switzerland,
*Italy,
*Albania,
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*Denmark,
*Norway,
*Sweden,
*Finland,
*Poland,
*The Czech Republic,
*Slovakia,
*Austria,
*Hungary,
*Greece,
*Germany.
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Photos and
information courtesy of the BC Council of Forest Industries
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