Unit 5 - Stakeholders
Levels of Government: Government of Alberta
As of 2020, the branch of the Alberta government that oversees our forests is the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department; it has a commitment to ensure that Alberta’s forests continue to be healthy and maintained for the future. This department
also supports the principles of sustainable forest management and responsible stewardship, which can only be accomplished through detailed and strict standards for forest management planning. Considering the amount of forested land in Alberta
and the number of stakeholders, this is not an easy nor small task.
Image Source: Government of Alberta
“Alberta Agriculture and Forestry is the government department that manages development and sets policies and regulations for the forested regions of the province. This department also sets the forest annual allowable cut, which determines the volume of trees that can be cut in a given year in order to ensure sustainable forest management, or ongoing forests. This government department is the one most responsible for considering all the different uses and users of the forest when making its important decisions.” (Inside Education – Current Forest Issues – Forest Management)
In addition to the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department, other government of Alberta departments could be stakeholders when it comes to sustainable forest management. For example, the Alberta Forest Products Association reported that, “forest companies in Alberta are required to assess their areas of activity to ensure culturally significant areas are not disturbed. To date the forest industry has identified thousands of culturally significant areas. Through partnerships with the Historic Resource Management Branch of Alberta Culture, forest companies are attempting to identify these areas for all users of the forest.”
We can see that while the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry department is the main stakeholder when it comes to managing our forests responsibly, there are also other government departments that may also play key roles.