"Keeping it Living": applications and relevance of traditional plant management in British Columbia to sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products

Abstract

There has been increasing concern about sustainability in harvesting and marketing of non-timber forest products in North America. This paper examines traditional approaches and practices for use of plant resources by Aboriginal peoples and discusses their applications in a contemporary context. Philosophies and attitudes of caring and respect are embodied in many traditional resource use systems, and these can become models for developing a responsible land ethic as an essential component of any program of sustainable land use. Aboriginal peoples have also developed and used a variety of practices and techniques in resource management that maintain the capacity for growth and regeneration of species being harvested, including re-planting and transplanting, pruning and coppicing, and burning. These also have relevance in current harvesting and production systems. Traditional systems of tenure, too, have enabled Aboriginal peoples to control access and monitor impacts of use. Traditional modes of knowledge transmission, including experimental, site-based learning, use of specialized names and vocabulary, stories, discourse, and ceremonial reinforcement of values of respect and careful use, are also potentially valuable and applicable to contemporary harvesting practices for NTFPs. In such applications, however, the rights and interests of Aboriginal peoples must be recognized and incorporated in any relevant NTFP use.

Parent Publication

• Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector.

Citation

Turner, Nancy J. 2001. "Keeping it Living": applications and relevance of traditional plant management in British Columbia to sustainable harvesting of non-timber forest products. In: Davidson-Hunt, Iain; Duchesne, Luc C.; Zasada, John C., eds. Forest communities in the third millennium: linking research, business, and policy toward a sustainable non-timber forest product sector, proceedings of the meeting; 1999 October 1-4; Kenora, Ontario, Canada. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-217. St. Paul, MN: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, North Central Research Station: 66-77.