Board Role and Services

Board Overview

The Forest Practices Board was created under the Forest Practices Code of British Columbia Act (the Code) as an independent watchdog for the public interest in B.C.'s public forests. The board's mandate is to: audit tenure holders and government ministries for compliance with, and enforcement of, the Code; deal with complaints from the public regarding forest planning and practices, and government enforcement, of the Code; carry out special investigations and issue special reports as the Board sees appropriate; request administrative reviews of approved forest development plans; participate on behalf of the public in reviews of penalty determinations; and participate in appeals to the Forest Appeals Commission. The Board's mandate continues under the new Forest and Range Practices Act.

Legislation ensures Board independence from licensees and the government. While the Board provides reports to the Minister of Forests, the Minister of Water, Land and Air Protection, the Minister of Sustainable Resource Management, and the Minister of Energy and Mines, its reports and findings are not provided to government for revision or comment in advance of public release. When the Board deals with an audit of or complaint about a government operation, that operation is entitled to the same level of information about the Board's preliminary findings as any other auditee or complaint subject.

The Board also has the authority of the Inquiry Act to compel the giving of evidence in the course of its investigations, and it has the authority to audit and investigate government's forest practices and enforcement actions.

The Board's funding is determined directly by Treasury Board.

Board Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Forests that are soundly managed to sustain the full range of forest values and forest resources for British Columbians.

Mission

The Board serves the public interest as the independent watchdog for sound forest practices in British Columbia.

Values

The Board:

• acts on behalf of the public's interest, not those of any single group;
• is straightforward in its approach;
• emphasizes solutions over assigning blame;
• behaves in a non-adversarial, balanced manner;
• treats all people with respect, fairness and sensitivity;
• performs in a measured, unbiased and non-partisan manner;
• carries out its mandate with integrity and efficiency;
• provides clear and concise reports to the public;
• bases actions and decisions on knowledge, experience and common sense; and
• is accessible and accountable.

Board Operating Context

Engagement in the Process of Change

While the Board contributes to the public system of democratic checks and balances by acting as an independent auditor of the effectiveness of forest practices, it must also be an active contributor in times of major change. As the province implements the new legislation, the Board intends to work cooperatively with government land and resource agencies, industry, organized interest groups and members of the public to test the new regime. Constructive revision of the new system, evolution of forest practices science and development of the underlying professional relationships will all benefit from an experimental climate and an intense commitment to respectful debate.

Standards, Indicators and Methods

No area of system development is more important than improving the measurability of results. The objectives set by government, upon which forest stewardship plans (FSP) are to be based, need to be explicit enough to enable the writing of measurable results and strategies. The results and strategies specified by forest licensees in FSPs need to be measurable so that the effectiveness of operational practices can be assessed against explicit criteria. Measurability is the key to the ability of the Forest Practices Board, the compliance and enforcement agencies of government, and certification auditors to determine what is working and what needs to be improved. If forestry professionals are to have a sound basis for attributing on the ground results to practices performed in forestry operations, we will need a body of "generally accepted indicators" of performance and "standard methods of measurement of the status of indicators." The Board is committed to working with all parties to develop, test and refine this essential part of forest science.

Responding to Strategic Influences

Amongst many, there are four particular strategic influences on the work of the Board that are occupying our attention. The first of these is the development of private sector forest certification schemes and their increasing adoption by the British Columbia forest industry. Most of the largest forest companies are employing a combination of certification schemes and developing both internal management systems and external auditing commitments demanded by the competitive marketplace. As these proprietary systems mature, the Forest Practices Board is examining the potential for reliance on their results to reduce our work, while maintaining the independence, rigour and public transparency of our audit and investigation reports.

The second major influence is the emergence of large scale ENGO-Industry partnerships that are developing protocols and agreements that can influence the allocation and management of Crown land. Arrangements made by these partnerships, often in the context of higher level land use planning, will influence the objectives being addressed by forest licensees in their long term forest sustainability planning and short term operational planning. Convergence of values expressed and objectives set by government with those set by these "non-state, market-driven mechanisms" is not guaranteed, but is a matter of considerable public importance.

The third major influence arises from the re-allocation of tenures being undertaken by government within the Forest Revitalization Plan. The Board is anticipating an influx of new, smaller entrants, including First Nations, into the forest industry over the next few years. Many of these new entrants will be less experienced with the regulatory regime and will be less able to afford the in-house professional teams necessary to respond to the full requirements of the Forest and Range Practices Act and regulations or the requirements of advanced certification schemes. The Board intends to work with new entrants in a constructive manner, so that the results of our audits and investigations are used to build capacity in a collaborative manner.

The fourth influence is the growing attention being paid to "ecosystem based management" and the need to examine forest practices against objectives that are comprehensive in nature — having to do with maintaining the environmental services of whole complex systems — and that range beyond the influence of practices on individual resource values.

Attention to Issues of Major Public Interest

While a great deal of attention must be paid to the changing regulatory environment, there are also several major forest issues of high public interest in the province. The foremost of these is the extensive impact of the mountain pine beetle, not only on current timber supplies, but also on the long term structure of the forest. The Board is actively involved in assessing the forest practices of licensees operating in beetle infested regions, particularly to examine the influence of beetle management and salvage practices on the other forest values. In the long run, along with land and resource agencies, industry and communities, the Board is concerned with the efforts to design a future forest that is more diverse and resilient.

A second major public concern is the risk of catastrophic wildfire to communities embedded in the forest. The Board's current interest in this issue is the effectiveness of land and forest productivity rehabilitation after fire control activities have been carried out. We also have an interest in the long term question of how well our forest practices ameliorate the conditions that place resource values and communities at risk.

Of great long term interest is the quality and quantity of domestic water supplies. Forest practices in domestic watersheds are destined to become an increasingly important issue. A great deal of attention is paid in Board audits and investigations to the health of streams, attention that tends to be focused on fish habitat conservation but is likely to be matched in the future by an overall societal concern for water supply.

A fourth area of focus is the management of populations and habitats for threatened species, identified under the federal Species at Risk Act or listed by the province. The Board is currently engaged, for instance, in examining forest practices related to marbled murrelets and mountain caribou and maintains a strong interest in the application of government's old growth order and its application to the establishment of spatially defined areas of old growth that can contribute to habitat conservation. While these high profile cases of individual species tend to receive major public interest, the Board is also considering the larger issues of maintaining biodiversity in all stages of forest succession and at all scales.

Board Core Business Areas

Forest practices audits, investigations and reports

Provide the public with credible information about the state of forest practices, validate sound practices, and recommend improvements.

Complaint investigations, administrative reviews and appeals

Provide the public with a readily accessible means to have their complaints and concerns regarding forest practices considered and addressed.

Executive and support services

Provide strategic and operational directions and the infrastructure necessary to support the Board's programs.

Update on New Era Commitments

The Board attempts, through its work and recommendations, to further the government's New Era commitments. Being an independent agency charged with the monitoring of sound forest management in B.C., it was not assigned specific commitments by the Premier.