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Forest Advisory Committees in Quebec: an effective tool for public participation?

Forest Advisory Committees in Quebec: an effective tool for public participation?. Solange Nadeau, ing.f., Ph.D. Catherine Martineau-Delisle PhD Candidate. Background. Most forests in Canada are located on public land

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Forest Advisory Committees in Quebec: an effective tool for public participation?

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  1. Forest Advisory Committees in Quebec: an effective tool for public participation? Solange Nadeau, ing.f., Ph.D. Catherine Martineau-DelislePhD Candidate

  2. Background • Most forests in Canada are located on public land • The responsibility for forest management is generally transferred to forest industry through licence or contract agreements • Some tensions exist concerning these licences and contracts, as communities want greater involvement in forest management • Proposed action: advisory committees for forest management

  3. Selection of committees • Active, dealing with forest issues in Quebec • Involving stakeholders other than government and forest industry • Active at the forest management planning stage, or at the local or regional scale • Overall: • 108 committees identified • 46 were surveyed • 947 committees members contacted, 471 answered

  4. The committees: areas of concern • Forest management plan: • 23 committees • Sponsor: forest industry • Advise forest managers on management plans • Local • 15 committees • Sponsor: mainly Regional County Municipality • Diverse mandate: advise managers, land-use issues, integrated forest management initiative • Regional • 8 committees • Sponsor: diverse, including government, local elected oficials, other groups • Diverse mandate: overall involvement in strategic planning,

  5. Duration of committees (in 2004)

  6. Respondents’ profile • Few women (18%) • From 15% for regional committees to 19% for local ones • Very little First Nations representation (3%) • Almost all involved at the forest management plan level • Average age: 45 years

  7. Respondents’ profile • 48% of respondents are economically dependent upon natural resources • Between 55% (local) and 75% (regional) have a university degree • Years of participation in committees:

  8. Reasons for involvement • Concerns about the impact of the forest industry on the environment (96%) • Want to contribute to planning because the forest is a public resource (91%) • Concerns about forest industry jobs in the area (79%) • Want to learn more about local issues (74%) • Required to attend as part of their job (70%) • Invitation from committee sponsor (70%) • Much more common for regional committees (86%) • Want to ensure that recreational opportunities are not diminished (65%) • Much less common for regional committees (49%)

  9. Selected to represent:

  10. Integration of values to decisions • I believe that forest management decision makers consider all viewpoints • Decisions from this process succeed in accommodating full spectrum of public interests

  11. Trust toward forest managers • I trust forest managers to make the right choices about forest management

  12. Participants’ satisfaction towards…

  13. Process Fairness and Effectiveness • The process is fair • The process is effective

  14. Impact of members on the process • I am able to influence the decisions that are made by the committee • My effort is well spent in the process

  15. Impact of process on forest management • The decisions are easy to implement • I am disappointed with past outcomes from this forest management process

  16. Impact of process on forest management • Decision makers regularly attend and participate in the committee’s activities. • This group is effective at influencing local forest decision making.

  17. Why the group influences decision making • Support from industry and government • Committee is influential • Members’ participation • Will to find consensus • Why the group does not influence decision making • Committees have little power themselves • Domination of industry and government • Obstruction and distrust between members • Low integration of participants’ issues in the agenda • High priority given to economic issues • Committees are only a facade for certification or politics

  18. Conclusions • Committees do bring together a range of interests, but some groups are underrepresented: • First Nations, women, youth • Fairly positive assessment of process effectiveness • Members of forest planning committees are more critical of the decision-making process and the capacity to accommodate a range of values • Members of regional committees express the lowest confidence toward forest managers and see more difficulty in impacting forest management • Creating links between level of decision making (from regional to forest planning) is a challenge • Will need to be addressed with the new regional advisory commissions that are being designed

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