This discussion paper will examine how Aboriginal communities may be affected by processes under development to certify sustainable forest management or sustainably produced forest products and the possible basis for Aboriginal communities complying with these processes. Background information will be provided on the events leading to certification, the current status of certification initiatives and options for Aboriginal communities to meet certification standards or use such systems to promote their interests.
This paper is intended to provide a greater understanding of the nature of Aboriginal and treaty rights and how they interface with emerging forest policy. When one examines the essence of Aboriginal and treaty rights an early observation must be that these rights are largely about continued use of the forests. This obvious linkage has never been reconciled in forest policy, and where it counts most - at the provincial level. Only now is there some evidence that change may occur.
A discussion of six criterion outlined as integral to sustainable forest management by NAFA, including economic benefits via employment and management and learning opportunities for Aboriginal peoples.
The objective of this submission is to provide the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples with analyses and options to overcome the inaccessibility to land and resources. Access to forest land resources could be achievable in several forms ranging through outright ownership, special long-term Aboriginal tenures, resource harvesting leases under existing provincial tenure systems, cooperative or joint management agreements, and decision-making or advisory roles in resource management and environmental assessment processes on traditional-use territories.
The objectives of this study are the following: (1) to determine with greater precision the number, type and geographic location of these partnerships; (2) to gain a better understanding of the motivations behind agreements and the obstacles and challenges in developing these partnerships and making them succeed; (3) to estimate the nature of the results in terms of employment, new business formation and other benefits to Aboriginal communities; and (4) to gain a better appreciation of the implications of this growing phenomenon for public policy and for future action on the part of industr
NAFA hopes this catalogue will be used to: (1) increase awareness among Aboriginal students of the possibilities of careers and training in natural resource management; (2) profile institutions and organizations who offer Aboriginal content and support services; and (3) encourage education and training institutions, organizations and companies to address Aboriginal values and issues in their programs.
This concept paper includes a planning and development process as a first phase of establishing an Aboriginal Centre for Research and Development Focussed on the Commercialization of Forest Products and Services. The proposed planning and development process will consist of refinement and validation of the concept, the preparation of a supporting business case, the recruitment of partners, and the identification of funding sources.
This paper is a summary of the National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA) preliminary and exploratory assessment of the market development needs of Aboriginal forest product companies. It is based on the assumption that Aboriginal forest companies can gain a competitive advantage through a differentiation of their forest products. If this is true, then there is a broad need for market development support specific to Aboriginal producers.
The National Forest Strategy, a broadly based public initiative, identifies and charts the direction that Canadians, as stewards of the forest, need to move toward in order to deal with evolving social, cultural, institutional, environmental and economic factors in our journey toward sustainable forest management. As Canadians, we have reason to be proud that Canada was the first nation to form a national forest strategy, thus establishing a clear and widely based commitment to the pursuit of the sustainable forest. The 2003- 2008 Strategy continues this leadership tradition.
