As a compendium of ‘what’s broadly understood about NS forests & wood supply’ (my paraphrasing), this RRA warrants careful scrutiny by Nova Scotians – especially given that the “biomass issue” was not addressed by Lahey in the 2018 Forest Practices Review and given the several plus mega-projects that involve use of wood, wood processing byproducts or clearing of forested lands that have been proposed, discussed, and some approved recently coupled with our commitment to 20% Protection by 2030.
This initiative for Nova Scotia was announced back in mid-June with the public consultation process then expected to begin in mid-Aug (NSFM Post, June 16, 2024).
The release of a Draft RRA for public review was finally announced yesterday, not only for Nova Scotia but for 6 other regions as well (Provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Quebec; plus Denmark – Trees Outside Forests, & US – Primary Sourcing Regions).
THE DOCUMENT TO BE REVIEWED:
Draft Regional Risk Assessment for the province of Nova Scotia, Canada
Version draft for Stakeholder Consultation, September 4, 2024. The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC)
A 254 page document with 19 Figures, 8 Tables and 6 Annex sections.
FOR A LINK TO SUBMIT COMMENTS:
View this page on the Sustainable Biomass Program Website :
SBP Launches Public Consultations on Seven Regional Risk Assessments
As a compendium of ‘what’s broadly understood about NS forests & wood supply’ (my paraphrasing), it definitely warrants careful scrutiny by Nova Scotians – especially given all of the mega-projects that involve use of wood, wood processing byproducts or clearing of forested lands that have been proposed, discussed, and some approved recently coupled with our commitment to 20% Protection by 2030.
The deadline for response is Dec 6, 2024.
– David P
From sbp-cert.org:
“SBP Launches Public Consultations on Seven Regional Risk Assessments
Posted on November 6, 2024 at 11:58 am.
“Written by Melanie Wedgbury
“Today, the Sustainable Biomass Program (SBP) has launched public consultations on the revised Regional Risk Assessments (RRAs) for British Columbia and Quebec, and the newly developed RRAs for Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Denmark – Trees Outside Forests, and US – Primary Sourcing Regions.
“As a result of the Standards Development Process launched in May 2020, both SBP Standards 1 and 2 were revised, thus triggering the review of all existing SBP-endorsed RRAs and initiating the development of new RRAs. Hopkin Forest Management Consulting (AL, BC, NB, NS), Incos Strategies (QC), B4Trees (Denmark – TOF) and New March Strategies (US – Primary Sourcing Regions) were appointed as the Working Bodies responsible for drafting revised and new RRAs. Those draft RRAs have now been submitted to SBP.
“SBP is inviting all stakeholders to participate in the public consultations on the draft RRAs. All comments received from the public consultations, alongside comments from local experts mandated by SBP, will be reviewed by the Secretariat and may lead to changes to the draft RRAs. Updated versions will then be published by SBP (expected Q1 2025) for Biomass Producers to use for certification purposes. At the same time, those versions will be shared with SBP Technical Committee for final review and recommendations for endorsement.
“Stakeholders may access the documents via the links below, and are requested to submit comments through the individual feedback platforms set up for the respective RRAs. (Note that feedback platforms might differ between RRAs.) All consultations close on Friday, 6 December 2024.
“…RRAs are a key part of SBP’s focus on identifying and managing risks associated with sustainably sourcing feedstock for biomass production. With an RRA covering an entire geographic region, and determining the risks associated with sourcing feedstock from that region, the need for individual Biomass Producers to conduct risk assessments is avoided, leading to an efficient and consistent risk assessment process. RRAs also ensure active engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders in the region.”
Links are given to RRAs for each of the 7 regions. View sbp-cert.org
Fig 1.2 In the Independent Review of Forest Practices in Nova Scotia: Addendum
Lest we think the biomass issue was all dealt with by Lahey 2018, it wasn’t.
Concerns about Biomass Harvesting were a major factor leading to the Independent (Lahey) Review of Forest Practices of 2018, although not addressed in the recommendations. View Plourde/EAC offer constructive analysis of The Report from the Independent Review and suggest ten things the government should do immediately, post on NSFN Sep 8, 2018
Said Plourde: “I asked Lahey why biomass was missing from his report at the stakeholder briefing and he gave two answers: 1. “We really didn’t hear that much about biomass during our consultation” (Wrong!) and 2. “We decided that we would not be looking at end uses” (What?) In the [Plourde’s] op-ed, Plourde pointedly reproduces Fig 1.2 from the Report Addendum, which summarizes in a bar graph the issues identified in submissions to The Review. “Biomass” was #1.”
So, Biomass Harvesting issues have not yet been well vetted/reviewed in Nova Scotia. In this context, the Draft RRA for Nova Scotia, and opportunity for public are welcomed and in the context of the mega-projects that involve use of wood, wood processing byproducts or clearing of forested lands that have been proposed, discussed, and some approved recently coupled with our commitment to 20% Protection by 2030, it is very timely.
Related:
– A second scientific paper by MG Betts & colleagues further documents “Forest Degradation” in Maritime Canada
Post on NSFM Oct 31, 2024 Press release by MG Betts, comments by David Patriquin.
– Open letter to Nova Scotia Premier Houston requesting cessation of logging in areas that are prime candidates for protection 17Oct2024
Post on NSFM Oct 20, 2024 By SOOF
– Nova Scotia Government responds to Questions about the Sustainable Forest Harvest Level
Post on NSFM Oct 16, 2024 “The number that is being cited as the Sustainable Harvest Level for Nova Scotia, 5.7 million cubic meters/annum, dates from NS Government sources in 2016. It surely does not represent what’s available today, what could be sustained well into the future and what Nova Scotians wish to be available for harvesting, while allowing for other uses and values of our forested landscape. For the sake of Nova Scotians at large and to provide credible numbers to the forest industry and investors, the government is urged to move quickly on its “Work [that] is underway to develop a new number based on the triad model”, and to follow the related recommendations of Bill Lahey.”
– Dreams of producing biofuel from Nova Scotia forests just got very big
Post on NSFM Sep 14, 2024
– Questions about stakeholder meetings (re: Feasibility of a new paper mill in Queens Co.) and Sustainable Forest Harvest Levels in Nova Scotia
Post on NSFM Sep 3, 2024
– Feedback sought on Wood Pellet Association of Canada’s Regional Risk Assessment for sourcing biomass from Nova Scotia’s harvestable forest land base
Post on NSFM June 16, 2024
– BDO Zone Initiative issues an “A-rating” for Southwest Nova Scotia as a location to develop “Bioeconomy Projects”
by David Patriquin on versicolor.ca/nstriad Feb 4, 2024.“This latest “Bioeconomy” initiative would involve use of 550,000 green metric tons per year of sawmill residuals and by-product wood fibre from the forest sector. In the formal BDO Zone Report, cautions are expressed that are not amongst the highlights cited in PR lit about the Bioeconomy prospects for SW Nova Scotia and presumably are amongst the reasons that a higher rating (AAA or AA versus the A-rating given) was not realized, e.g. related to nutrient limitations, uncertainty about buy-in of private woodlot owners, sustainability concerns and associated public opinion.”
For More Info about RRAs, view links given in NSFM Post June 16, 2024