CPABC Industry Update - Fall 2015 | Page 5

ustry The Allowable Annual Cut (AAC)** Who Owns BC’s Forests?** 95% 4% 95% Crown Provincial (89,512,571 ha) is the maximum amount of timber that may be harvested per year from a specified area of land. Currently, the overall AAC in BC is 85 million cubic metres. The AAC is set at a sustainable level for a 10-year period. The Province’s Chief Forester reviews the timber supply on a regular basis, normally every ten years. Following that review, the AAC may increase, decrease, or remain unchanged. Private ownership (4,188,346 ha) 1% Federal 0.1% First Nations (1,037,102 ha) (134,878 ha) Total provincial land base: 94,872,897 ha 2009 The BC forest sector continues to recover from 2009, the sector’s worst year of the recession, and one of the worst years for BC forestry in recent history. Half of Crown Forest is Considered Harvestable.** Area harvested on: • public forest land: averaged 180,000 hectares per year since 1990 • private forest land: 20,000 hectares annually By law, all forest harvested on public lands must be regenerated. Economic Impact (Based on 2013 percentages) Forestry accounts for 24% of direct manufacturing employment. Forestry is a major customer for BC’s transportation industries – trucking, railway, and shipping. One out of every four manufacturing jobs is related to forest products manufacturing. • An estimated 14 million metric tonnes of forestry cargo is shipped through BC ports to more than 25 countries. Forestry consists of more than 7,000 businesses in BC. • Most are small businesses, with 83% employing less than 20 employees. 40% of BC’s regional economies are forest-dependent. Source: BC Forest Industry: Economic Impact Study, MNP LLP. 2015. FALL 2015 | page 5