Economic
Transition Stategy
For
decades, the regions economy has been dependent on the forest industry.
Sawmills, logging contractors, and related spin-off industries have traditionally
made up the bulk of employment opportunities. Little secondary manufacturing
exists in the region, so raw or partly processed materials (e.g. veneer and
lumber) are exported in large quantities for further processing outside the
region. This economic structure requires massive flow-through of wood, and
as a result cutting has proceeded at an accelerated rate for the past three
decades, leaving a legacy of unsustainable harvesting imprinted on the landscape.
Data from the Ministry of Forests show that the Annual Allowable Cut (or AAC:
the volume of wood harvested annually) is set at a level nearly twice that
of the MOF calculated Long Term Harvest Level.
Today we face a declining timber supply and uncertain international markets
for wood products. With little diversity in the local economy, this uncertainty
threatens the communities that have traditionally depended on the forest industry
for their bread and butter.
Currently, a significant economic shift is on the horizon in the Headwaters
bioregion. While the forest industry struggles, other sectors such as tourism
are emerging as major contributors to the economic mix. However, there is
also potential for large-scale industrial tourism to be as harmful to the
environment as industrial forestry. There is a need to manage economic change
at the community level and to plan for a future that is both ecologically
and economically viable.
It has become evident that conservation and economics are inextricably linked. Unsustainable economies undermine the ecosystems that provide the wealth they depend upon. Similarly, conservation initiatives, such as the designation of protected areas, can cause economic hardship if a regions economy is based on resource extraction alone. If we are to achieve our conservation goals, we must also address the structure of the regions economy.
FHAs Economic Transition program is designed to facilitate the community
discourse and collaboration needed to achieve long-term sustainability. We
believe that workable solutions, both economic and ecological, must be developed
at the community level with the involvement of those people who are most affected
by change. The first step in this program was recently completed with the
release of A Socio-Economic
Profile of the Robson Valley. This report, produced by Larry Stamm
Over the past few years, members of the largely forestry-dependent
communities in the Robson Valley have begun to recognize the importance of
a diverse economy in community stability. Numerous surveys and reports have
been produced in the meantime in an attempt, both to define the economic dependence
of these rural communities on resource extraction, and to describe the dominant
perspective on where the economy should go. Some studies even went one step
further to make recommendations regarding diversification. However up to now
the results have all been the same; reports are notoriously forgotten and
the economic situation in the Robson Valley becomes more and more unstable
as markets fluctuate, soft-wood lumber disputes continue and land-use conflicts
become increasingly tense.
One possible reason for the apparent inapplicability of past reports is that
they have been largely produced by academic researchers. This is because,
although residents are much more familiar with the economic, social and population
trends of their own community, there are few who are specifically trained
to analyse and understand population data. The task of profiling the economic
situation has therefore generally fallen to people outside of the valley who
cannot necessarily understand how the community may respond to social change,
capitalize on new opportunities or mitigate and avoid potential problems associated
with economic growth.
Over the past year, the Fraser Headwaters Alliance has recognized the need
for a local initiative toward economic diversification and in response has
worked, together with the Sonoran Institute to train a member of the community
in statistical analysis. Larry Stamm has now collected, collated, analysed
and described the population and economic data in the Robson Valley for the
past four censuses. Included are data from and comparisons between McBride,
Valemount, the rural areas of the Robson Valley, The Fraser Ft. George regional
district, Prince George, the province of British Columbia and the country
as a whole. The analyses compile and report on the most widely understood
indicators of economic, social and political change. These indicators include
data on population changes, age and gender distribution, migration, education,
housing, employment (rates by place and industry), and income.
A Socio-economic profile of the Robson Valley is now nearing completion.
It indicates, in general, that the Robson Valley appears to be a community
with an ageing population (all age groups under 45 years are decreasing in
size) that is undergoing a rapid transition from a forestry and agricultural
based economy (see figure). This economic transition is creating significant
stress within the community and the data suggests that the community is as
unstable under a one-sector tourism based economy (with variable but low incomes)
as it was when historically dependent on forestry and agriculture. It is likely
that the communities in the Robson Valley, like in other parts of the province,
will require diversification into all economic sectors if they are to be secure
and stable into the future.
The socio-economic analysis is the first phase of a three part project which
was designed to result in a more diverse, more stable economic strategy. The
three phases are:
Phase 1: Produce a report on socio-economic trends in the Robson Valley
Phase 2: Initiate (where necessary) and participate in community discussions
regarding economic diversification in the Robson Valley. It is hoped that
the report will be utilized by groups such as the McBride (or Valemount)
Economic Adjustment committee, and that, together with other residents
interested in participating, a strategy for ensuring a sustainable economy
may be designed.
Phase 3: Implement the economic diversification strategy defined in phase
2.
While FHA recognizes that this is an extremely challenging project and that
it involves a real commitment (on the part of the organization and by members
of the local community), it is hoped that the project will assist the valley
in its emergence as a more stable community with a wide range of economic
sectors to sustain it into the future. It is imperative that members of the
Robson Valley community are involved in the process. Please contact the FHA
office if you are interested in assisting with this important work or participating
in the ensuing discussions.