Forest Carbon Management
SGRC Lead Researcher: Brendan Wilson
SGRC Researchers: Ian Parfitt, Justin Robinson
SGRC Interns: Brian Port
Collaborators: Forest Licensees
Funders: NSERC
In the summer of 2010, Selkirk College was awarded a National Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) College and Community Innovation Grant especially targeted to support the regional forest sector. The two-year project focused on the development of customised tools to assist small and medium forest enterprises (SMEs) to access, evaluate, and analyse potential opportunities in forest carbon markets in our region. The College established a regional partnership between forest sector stakeholders in the Kootenay Columbia region, called the Selkirk Decision Support Collaborative (SDSC). The purpose of this partnership was to advise, collaborate with, and guide the project research team in its efforts to build applied research capacity that will assist the regional forest sector in its ability to adapt, diversify and grow in a changing global environment and economy. On the advice of this steering committee, and a user needs survey, the College developed and deployed several potentially transferable and commercialisable, user friendly forest carbon decision-support tools that spatially extent what is currently available to the internet. The SGRC also co-hosted a forest carbon management workshop in partnership with the Columbia Mountains Institute and undertook an evaluation of Selkirk’s Castlegar campus for carbon credit potential.