January 27, 2016
Peter Milley is speaking at the Annual Conference of ForestNS on January 27, 2016.
Based in large part on his report for the Ivany commission, “Adding Value to Forest Resources”, (which appears in Volume II of the Now or Never Report), Peter’s presentation examines the fundamental, structural change in the form of declines in demand for the commodity products that has been experienced by forest products sector in Canada and in Nova Scotia.
Over the past decade, volumes of timber harvested from Canada’s forests have decreased to about half the levels permitted as annual allowable harvests. Finding new technology, product and market pathways to a sustainable future will be essential if our forests are to continue contributing to our socio-economic and environmental sustainability.
Peter’s presentation explores new product / market pathways with potential to revitalise Nova Scotia’s forest products sector. To be successful and viable, such opportunities will need to be based on wood products, and particularly higher valued wood products than have traditionally been produced in the Province; but these pathways must also include a mix of secondary conversion applications and market outlets for wood chips, sawdust / shavings and other mill residues essential to the industry’s viability.