ENV Studies Skill no 3: The longer run.

Artifact no 1 relates to the Environmental Studies Skill no 3. This Artifact is my Field Reflection Paper from ENV 2240, june 2022. This field course were focused on ecological forestry practices and restoring eco system health in PEI woodlands.

The field course included various components, and for this reflection piece related to Environmental Studies Skill no 3, I want to discuss how I learned to transition from the natural resource commodity economy of industrialized plantation forestry, which contributes to ecosystem degradation, to a value added comercial forestry approach. This approach emphasizes indigenous practices, selective timber harvesting, and the creation of local jobs through the production of non-timber products, while ultimately restoring ecosystem health.

Examples of how ecological forestry can be commercialized based on value-added products, instead of just based on logging cords of timber/ firewood:

-       Non-timber products, like premium furniture manufactured locally, increasing the value of each tree, whilst creating local jobs and keeping the profits in the local community.

-       Non timber commodities, as seen in indigenous forestry, such as wild rice, mushrooms, berries, maple syrup, nuts, medicine, seeds. These can also be well marketed as premium health supplements and whole food products, whilst creating local jobs and keeping the profits in the local community

Transforming mono-planted woodlands into biodiverse forests, followed by selective harvesting and the promotion of value-added busiuness models, allows the forest to achieve full maturity. Mature forests could offer a second income stream of carbon credits, relevant for the coming decades. Scaling the Arcadian forest as a carbon zink for the northern hemisphere seems like an obvious opportunity for offset programs, similar to the REDD+ program in South America. On a systemic scale, this could support the financing of the Canadian ALUS program´s carbon capture forest initiative through carbon credit trade. It might also increase the reimbursment incentive for private landowners currently engaged in industrialized forestry, as the current ALUS incentive is not sufficiently rewarding.

Whether we aim to convince a population to adopt renewable energy solutions or electric vehicle infrastructure, or whether we seek to persuade private and commercial woodland owners to shift from industrial to ecological forestry, the argument will have to include extending the timeline and demonstrate how better practices can be significantly financially and socially rewarding in the long run.

Field Journal.pdf

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