Much can be learned from a swedish model, never doubt it -g- ... thing is, Europe has been settled much longer than North America so they are into forest rotations far beyond us - where we are cutting second- and third-growth and in some cases first growth, they are harvesting tenth-growth and more
'My guess is that trees are worth a lot more in Switzerland (relative to cost of labor) than they are in Canada, and that this would account for most of the difference in management practices.'
Yes, only one of the differences but a major one for sure ... in the late eighties i had a recent price list for swedish timber bought from smallholders, it covered all grades and species, and the guy who gave it to me translated anything necessary into english ... absolutely amazing the price difference, especially in pulp logs, something like 90Cdn/cubic metre while i was getting tops 30Cdn/cm and often as little as 15Cdn/cm ... less difference in sawlog, eight inch top and up, but still substantial, often double ..... not the same species of course, but our douglas fir is second to none for dimension lumber ... my focus for years has been on the small wood though, as being able to sell it for a reasonable price opens up possibilities of commercial thinning, rehab, salvage etc ... [rehab = rehabilitation sites, usually clearcutting patches heavy to alder that were not properly reforested back in the 20s-50s, sometimes rootrot patches of fir in or beside them]
Sweden we're quite aware of here in BC, there are a number of similarities - latitude, juxtaposition to the north of major powers [Sweden to Germany, BC to the US] ... swedish terrain is a fair bit smoother, but still much of their land is suited to forestry and little else, same as ours ... and while the country is less than half the area of the province, they have roughly the same area of working forest and the same annual cut
One big advantage they have over our current situation is the makeup of their land tenure structure - i'll quote from A.B. Robinson here - 'Half the forest land is held in 240,000 separate parcels by individuals, various groups, and municipalities. Industrial concerns own 24 per cent, while the remaining 26 per cent, most of it in the north, is in public hands. Farming in addition to forestry is conducted on one-third of the small parcels, while half the owners live in towns, rather than on their properties. All industrial and public lands and most small holdings are managed according to formal plans.
[...]
The most important lesson we can learn from Sweden is that ordinary citizens, not just the Queen and her servants, are fit to own and look after forest land. It is time to stop governing ourselves like a colony, time to break up the Giant Fiefdom. It puts too much responsibility on the government and the Forest Service, because they control nearly all the timber. That makes them vulnerable to the pressures put upon them by the most vocal and aggressive of their client groups.'
This was written at the height of the greenie attack on forestry here, and that attack is the focus of his book ... but there are other good and valid reasons for expanding individual involvement ... 95 per cent of BC working forest is held by the crown in right of the province
Somewhere on the net about three years ago i found a page with a well-done and concise history of swedish forestry, can't find it now ...... a major figure i think was king Karl XIV, while he was crown prince he started up the forestry academy, then when he was king he decreed some draconian laws on the industry, roughly 1850 [?], the forests of the country having been devastated by a complete lack of foresight in preceding years, due not only to cut 'n run attitudes among merchants but also to the napoleonic and other wars .... but the nation did have the advantage of a land tenure structure that had evolved out of the old soldier-farmer system codified under, i think, Gustaf Vasa in the 1600s ... fairly similar to tradition of english yeomanry
The US system is not an option for us - what happened there was a giveaway to timber barons, same sort of Washington corruption that is going on now ... many here would like to improve land tenure, sure, but as citizens we want a fair price for it, and we don't want those snakes to end up with it ... got to go, later, cheers |
