Getting more value - and more jobs - from our forests

The forest economy in British Columbia is in trouble, and many people – both inside and outside the industry and government – are seeking solutions.
Mill closures and the related loss of jobs are causing economic distress in B.C.’s resource communities.

One long-standing goal – production efficiency – has been a policy priority for many years. B.C.’s forest workers are unrivalled – in Canada and the world – at moving massive amounts of wood every working day.

But at the same time, we also produce relatively few economic benefits, including jobs.

Respecting old-growth forests is about more than preserving beauty. It’s also about preserving jobs. The fact is, if we British Columbians valued our forests more highly, we could create up to 4.5 times more jobs per tree. Long term, high quality jobs.

Having more respect for our forest resources would also mean encouraging more competitive timber yards, where wood would sell for what it’s really worth. And where value-added manufacturers would have the same opportunity as everyone else to bid for it.

Right now, the total number of jobs and value generated per tree in BC is lower than anywhere else in Canada, the U.S. and the world’s major timber-producing countries. That’s unacceptable.

The solution? Add more value to every tree we cut – from logging, to sorting, to processing.

This will allow us to cut fewer trees and maintain the forest ecosystem, as well as providing a livelihood for the people in our coastal communities.

That way we can have it all, for generations to come – jobs, a healthy economy and a magnificent forest heritage.

Table 1:
A 1995 Comparison of Selected Economic and Social Benefits of Timber Production in British Columbia, Canada, United States, New Zealand and Sweden (Canadian Dollars).

This data is provided by the statistics bureaus for each country included in the study, as well as the Timber Section of the United Nations - the UN/ECE Trade Division

Definitions of Terms Used in the Study

(a) Log Supply - the domestic log production plus the log imports (cubic meters);

(b) Value of Shipments - the value of all forest products manufactured and shipped to market;

(d) Value Added - this is the value added to the product, in excess of the costs of production. This value is included in the value of shipments;

(e) Unit Value Added - this value is derived from (a) and (d) by dividing the value added by the log supply;

(f) Direct Forest Industry Employment - the forest industry workers directly employed in logging, sawmills, pulp mills etc. who produce all products made from wood;

(g) Direct Jobs/1000 meters - this value is derived from (a) and (f) by dividing the direct number of forest industry jobs by the annual log supply;

Research by Ray Travers

Why are forest-industry jobs per thousand cubic meter in B.C. so low?

The reasons include :

(a) Our forest management system emphasizes volume over value;

(b) We produce and sell, primarily, commodity forest products such as dimension lumber, wood chips, market pulp, and newsprint.

(c) Our forest industry is highly mechanized and capital intensive (not labor intensive). A capital intensive industry is typical of a commodity based economy like the resource sector in Canada. While very efficient in transporting logs and other products, a commodity based economy - by it's very nature - can only compete globally by lowering costs. We must learn how to compete by delivering value to the consumer - and not through a race to the bottom.

(d) The forest tenure system on our public forests is concentrated into the ownership of a small number of major licensees. Our forest tenure system should separate logging from milling, so logs could be sold competitively at fair market value. We have a choice - between a labour intensive diversified forest industry with a pulp and paper industry existing on the wood residue produced by the higher value manufacturers, or a pulp dominated industry making first claim on the timber that treats our forests as high-volume low-value commodities.

(e) An additional benefit will be strengthening of the value of our currency by these forest policy reforms. The Canadian dollar is now weak because of our excessive dependence on the manufacture and sale of commodity products.

What Can We Do About It?

We can :

(a) better position ourselves in the world economy by taking a strategic perspective. We need to better understand the forces at work in the world economy. Our best strategy will be to provide high quality goods and services in a way that is ecologically, economically and socially sound.

(b) reduce uncertainty in the British Columbia economy by supporting treaty negotiations and the just resolution of aboriginal issues. Treaties are long-standing unfinished business which until settled will remain an obstacle to economic development.

(c) maintain and restore the quality of our forests through the practice of ecosystem management. We must maintain our forests in a healthy condition, by using a range of silvicultural systems that sustain the diversity, stability and integrity of our forests.

(d) sell logs at fair market value, a current practice at the Vernon log yard. Log yards will not only increase opportunities for value added manufacturing, the additional revenue will also provide the capital to plan and practice selection logging - while increasing employment in the forest.

(e) welcome the transition to the knowledge economy through increased production of high value added products. Multi skilled workers will be needed in both the forest and the mills who have the training, flexibility and capacity to adapt to changing market opportunities.

(f) support local communities by diversifying the forest tenure system through granting more community forests and woodlots. This will help ensure that economic benefits and employment remain in local communities while developing the capacity for long term local forest management expertise.