Socio-Economic Sustainability in Forest Dependent Communities

Abstract

This paper has as its emphasis, the identification, description and exploration of the relationship between timber supply, forest industries and regional and community socio-economic sustainability in Ontario. Six issues have been identified for discussion: (1) the socio-economic dependency of communities and regions on the forest industry; (2) the socio-economic effects of varying levels of timber supply on the forest industries and communities and regions in seven case study regions; (3) typical socio-economic effects when various levels of timber supply are either added or reduced from a region, while identifying potential mitigation and enhancement measures and net effects; (4) factors influencing the socio-economic sustainability of forest-based communities; (5) a framework, criteria and indicators for assessing the sustainability of forest-based communities and industries; and (6) how resource management and socio-economic analysis and planning can promote community sustainability.