Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program Delivery

Client(s):

Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD)

Location:

Vancouver Island, BC

Dates:

November 2019 – March 2020

Background:

The Indigenous Forest Bioeconomy Program (IFBP) is an initiative the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to foster innovation in the forestry sector in British Columbia. Hatfield won a contract with the province to provide expertise in Indigenous engagement and non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to support program delivery/management.

The project sought to facilitate collaboration and partnership with First Nations communities across British Columbia to identify and pursue forest bioeconomy projects. The goal was to empower and support First Nations to actively participate in broadening the potential of the forest sector, create good jobs, and encourage Indigenous-led approaches to forestry.

Services Provided:

Hatfield engaged with First Nation communities to identify potential opportunities to develop non-timber forest product (NTFP) enterprises at the community scale.

Our work included field visits to each of the four Nations to present the project and identify community representatives with whom to collaborate and guide each project.  Over the course of six months, the team worked with Gitanyow First Nation, Kwakiutl First Nation, Quatsino First Nation, and Ulkatcho First Nation to produce a variety of business planning and development documents including: i) a market study for the viability of a firewood operation to add value to slash and waste wood; ii) two NTFP resource assessments to gather preliminary data on potential food, fibre and medicinal forest products with potential market value; and iii) a business plan update for a nascent forest mushroom operation.