Communities and Forest-Based Business Opportunities

Forest-dependent communities throughout the world are increasingly vulnerable, despite the important regional socio-economic contributions that they make. In British Columbia, forest-dependent communities have reached a tipping point, largely precipitated by the global economic crisis, associated plummeting commodity prices and the outfall of the Mountain Pine Beetle infestation in the province’s interior. Massive downturns in the BC forest industry and the associated declines in employment strike at the heart of many rural communities and contribute to an increasingly uncertain future. We work in partnership with communities, First Nations and indigenous people throughout the world to research potential forest products, services and markets, support the development of viable business propositions and identify economic opportunities that serve to foster employment and catalyze rural development as forest-dependent communities transition into the new economy.