Amendments to the Forests Act Proclaimed
The Department of Natural Resources is moving forward with the province's forest strategy. Changes to the Forests Act have been proclaimed and the new Forest Sustainability Regulations have been approved.
"We are continuing with our new direction for forestry in Nova Scotia," Natural Resources Minister Ernest Fage said today at Province House. "Amendments to the act and the new regulations are providing the necessary framework to ensure that our forests are managed sustainably."
The department's recent analysis of wood supply has shown the current level of harvesting on small, privately owned lands is not sustainable without significant increases in silviculture. The Forest Sustainability Regulations require the level of silviculture to be tied directly to the level of harvest carried out on these lands, said the minister.
When fully implemented, all registered buyers who acquire more than 5,000 cubic metres solid of primary forest products (2,300 cords of wood) in a year must submit an annual wood acquisition plan. To meet these requirements, they may undertake a silviculture program or contribute to a Sustainable Forestry Fund.
The regulations, with full compliance, will increase the current $3 million of funding for silviculture on small, privately owned lands to $9 million per year. The total silviculture program on industrial, small-private and Crown lands from all sources could exceed $15 million per year.
These steps are part of the department's forest strategy released in 1997. Implementation of the strategy has been phased in, beginning with the Registry of Buyers in January 1998, and now the amendments to the act and the new Forest Sustainability Regulations.
The department is currently working on Wildlife Habitat Management Regulations and a Code of Forest Practices for Crown lands.
"A need for change has been clearly identified and we are taking the necessary steps to make sure forest management practices in Nova Scotia are sustainable," said Mr. Fage. "We have received encouragement and support for this new approach from industry, private landowners and the public."