Clayoquot Forest Communities Program

This multi-year program, launched in 2008, focuses on economic diversification, innovation, building strong local institutions, and developing an ecosystem-based management approach to resource use in the Clayoquot UNESCO Biosphere Reserve region.

Natural Resources Canada awarded the Nuu-chah-nulth Central Region Management Board and Ecotrust Canada $1.5-million in funding to launch the Clayoquot Forest Communities Program (FCP) as part of a national strategy to help forest-dependent communities meet the challenges of economic transition.

Canada’s forest sector is currently dealing with unprecedented challenges: rising energy costs, a strong Canadian dollar, new international competition, reduced timber supplies. FCP is meant to assist communities in developing the tools, approaches and strategies needed to help local economies as the forest sector rapidly evolves. The $25-million Forest Communities Program is funding 11 community-based programs across the country.

The Central Region Management Board and Ecotrust Canada are the program partners in the greater Clayoquot Sound region. The communities included under the program are the First Nations of Ahousaht, Hesquiaht, Toquaht, Ucluelet and Tla-o-qui-aht, and the municipal Districts of Ucluelet and Tofino. As Clayoquot Sound is part of the Alberni–Clayoquot Regional District, the program may extend to other First Nations and coastal communities on the West Coast as well.

The Clayoquot Forest Communities Program comes into play at a time when local communities are working hard to recover from the collapse of the fisheries and forestry industries in the 1990s. With unemployment figures as high as 70 percent in some of the region’s more remote communities, and after recognizing the dangers of reviving an economy to be reliant solely on tourism, the region is ready to have a second look at the forest economy with an interest in diversifying economic activity and becoming a model to inspire others facing similar issues.

“Clayoquot Sound is a rich area in terms of its culture, biodiversity, natural resources and workforce,” says Daniel Arbour, Forest Communities Program Manager in Tofino. “Our challenge is to work together as communities to build a more diversified and resilient local economy.”

The vision for the Clayoquot FCP is to build a conservation economy based on the principle of Hishuk ish’ tsawalk, a Nuu-chah-nulth phrase meaning “everything is one and interconnected.” As a partner, the Central Region Management Board represents the economic development interests of the five First Nations in Clayoquot Sound, and Ecotrust Canada brings community economic development and business expertise, and financial management to the table. Together, the partnership is well positioned to act as a magnet to develop a broadly supported program for the region.

By attracting and engaging other programs and sources of funding, the Forest Communities Program will support the development of a dynamic and creative economy for this UNESCO Biosphere Reserve region that honours the intent of its designation and proves that people and the environment can both co-exist and thrive. The partners intend to leverage this new funding to attract many partners to the table and build a model of the conservation economy.

The Clayoquot Forest Communities Program has five major themes:

Effective and efficient program management: create a project management framework that is recognized and respected for its ability to deliver on commitments in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Demographic change in the forest-based community economy: bring what has historically been a contentious and divided constituency into the program with a set of common objectives and priority outcomes. This includes making special efforts to increase the participation of the region’s First Nations, women, youth and elders.
Diversification of the local economy: select and fund projects that lead ultimately to economic diversification with a particular focus on bringing new business opportunities to remote communities and encouraging innovation and investment.
Strong regional institutions and collaborative partnerships: operate the program as a partnership from the very beginning by engaging stakeholder groups from a wide spectrum of sectors and interests in the design and delivery of projects.
Innovative ecosystem-based management approach: promote integrated planning, results monitoring, innovation and models of best practice as core aspects of the program.