The Evolution of Devolution Evaluation of the Community Forest Agreement in British Columbia

ii In 1998, the government of British Columbia introduced a new form of tenure for community forestry. The Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was envisioned as a unique institutional mechanism for devolution, providing resource-dependent communities and First Nations in B.C. with the authority to set...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Lisa Marie Ambus
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2008
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.456.6552
Description
Summary:ii In 1998, the government of British Columbia introduced a new form of tenure for community forestry. The Community Forest Agreement (CFA) was envisioned as a unique institutional mechanism for devolution, providing resource-dependent communities and First Nations in B.C. with the authority to set the direction of forest management in their locale, and to create local benefits. Relative to the industrial status quo, there were high expectations of community forestry and what it might achieve. This study empirically tested some of these expectations with respect to B.C.’s Community Forest Program. Taking a realist approach to evaluation, a variety of qualitative research methods were used to critically assess the structure, performance, and outcomes of the CFA. Analysis of the CFA revealed that its structure is virtually identical to tenures designed for industrial forestry with a few minor exceptions. In the current