In Search of Sustainability: British Columbia Forest Policy in the 1990s

In recent years, the forests of British Columbia have become a battleground over sustainable resource development. The conflicts are ever present, usually pitting environmentalists against the forest industry and forestry workers and communities. In an effort to broker peace in the woods, British Columbia’s government launched a number of promising new forest policy initiatives in the 1990s.

The authors are Benjamin Cashore, Auburn University; George Hoberg, University of British Columbia; Michael Howlett, Simon Fraser University; Jeremy Rayner, Malaspina University College; and Jeremy Wilson, University of Victoria

In Search of Sustainability brings together a group of political scientists to examine this extraordinary burst of policy activism. Focusing on how much change has occurred and why, the authors examine seven components of BC forest policy: land use, forest practices, tenure, Aboriginal issues, timber supply, pricing, and jobs. The authors conclude that despite the astonishing level of activism, the government’s search for sustainability - whether measured by environmental, social, economic, or political indicators - has ultimately failed.