Guiding principles for code development

The Forest Practices Code should:

· be seen as one component of a provincial commitment to protect and sustain the environment while ensuring a sustainable economy;

· recognize that the physical and biological capacity of the forest is a key to the long-term sustainability of all consumptive and non-consumptive uses;

· be based on integrated resource management principles;

· link forest practices to resource management priorities expressed in land-use plans;

· draw on the best of existing policies, practices and experience acquired over time and incorporate them within a single framework;

· provide minimum provincial standards for practices on applicable forest lands; the application of these standards should be flexible in response to the varying ecological conditions found in British Columbia;

· provide a systematic and cost-effective process for public input in the development, implementation, and revision of the Code;

· establish clear processes to develop locally relevant standards that improve upon provincial standards;

· provide a process of review in response to changes in social values, new scientific information, new technology, and the results of field experience; establish an open and cost-effective appeal process against resource management decisions; promote optimal standards for good forest stewardship through a system that rewards good practices and penalizes poor practices; ensure public accountability achieved through a system of established standards for practices and processes that can be assessed by independent audit; while respecting the cost implications of compliance, setting and enforcing standards, be rigorous enough to ensure protection of the integrity and long-term productivity of the forest; considered the safety of humans a priority in forest resource management; address the training of forest workers to ensure effective application of the Code in practice; and promote public awareness of forest practices standards and processes.