From the Forest Practices Board facebook page: "The ABCFP is continuing the conversation on professional reliance - what do you think? Join the conversation."----- From the perspective of First Nations Wildcrafters this issue is a very relevant discussion, particularly as relates to the management of cultural heritage resources and other non-timber values. Professional reliance upon Registered Professional Foresters may be appropriate for development of management plans and associated timber related activities...but....this does not mean that a RPF holds the qualifications and/or experience to be the decision maker or qualified person to make decisions relating to specialized management interests of First Nations traditional use and/or sectors as diverse as the non-timber sector is (which includes camping, spiritual sites, medicines, hunting, and other cultural needs of First Nations on both stand-level and landscape level planning). Traditional Ecological Knowledge and practices must be recognized as an "equitable knowledge system" in making such decisions in forest planning. To continue a forestry and resource management system that only recognizes one discipline as having credibility is a path towards decision making without the best source of information needed in many situations. It is simply not fair to expect forest professionals to be proficient in all of the knowledge sets required to make decisions that are able to meet the strategies and outcomes required for meaningfully addressing and meeting community needs. One example (of many that could be used) is the use of fertilizers to enhance tree production. These treatments are designed without consideration of the potential health effects upon humans that consume foods and medicines from these treated areas.....or consideration of the adverse economic impacts of wild foods or natural health products markets that require chemical free products. Management of forested lands, to be robust and inclusive, must be expanded beyond the westernized concept of what is valid knowledge and understand that professional reliance, to be credible, must be within a much broader framework and understanding of what is needed in terms of responsible decision making. Timber economies are important, but cannot continue to be the sole driving force in decision making.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 23:57:03 +0000
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