A new report by 19 forestry industry leaders has made 29 recommendations to help the ailing sector, which has been hammered by the depression in the U.S. housing market.
Among the recommendations by the Working Roundtable on Forestry is lobbying the Western Climate Initiative to include forests as a source of carbon credits in a North American cap and trade carbon market.
The roundtable also recommended creating a carbon offset credit program for pine beetle-damaged forests, which will be used to pay for restoration and replanting of affected forests.
According to the report, incorporating forests in the carbon market might be controversial because forest-based carbon credits were not considered under the Kyoto Protocol.
Other recommendations from the panel included:
advancing bioenergy and biofuel projects in B.C.;
requiring all B.C. government buildings to use wood products whenever possible;
establishing commercial forestland reserves where wood production would be the primary focus;
streamlining transactions between government and industry and improving productivity and competition in the industry; and
improving First Nations involvement in the sector through improved revenue sharing and capacity building.
The roundtable was formed last March and included meetings in 19 B.C. communities. The report considered more than 250 submissions from a individuals, organizations and community groups.