Prior to coming to the Faculty in January 1998, David Balsillie, was an Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and had responsibilities for Forest Policy, Research, Technology Transfer, and Information Management. At the Faculty, he is focusing on sustainable forest management and forest policy issues including current and historical perspectives on international forest policy, Canada's National Forest Strategy, land-use planning and resource allocation, criteria and indicators, certification, biodiversity conservation and global warming Professional Experience Prior to coming to the Faculty in January 1998, David Balsillie was an Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ontario Ministry of the Environment from 1986 to 1990 with responsibilities for Environmental Services. From 1990 to 1997, he was the Assistant Deputy Minister with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and had responsibility for Forest Policy, Research, Technology Transfer, and Information Management Research 1. Development and testing of a criteria and indicators system for sustainable forest management at the local forest management unit level. Case study at the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Ontario, Canada. The Sustainable Forest Management Research Group of the Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, has been conducting research on the development, implementation and testing of a criteria and indicators (C&I) system for sustainable forest management (SFM) at the forest management unit (FMU) level. This case study takes place at the Haliburton Forest and Wild Life Reserve Limited, Ontario. The selected mixedwood forest of 23,800 hectares is highly suitable because of its advanced integrated, multiple use and nature-oriented forest management concept. The study is based on the hypothetical suitability of C&I for defining, measuring, analyzing, assessing and monitoring sustainability at the FMU level. The objectives of the project are to develop a C&I system which consists of an optimal and minimum set of C&I, which also has generic applicability for the SFM of temperate forests internationally, and can be utilized as an adaptive management system. The preliminary set of C&I has been developed mostly based on the outcomes of the Center for International Forestry Research North American Test of C&I for Sustainable Forestry. This C&I set is currently in the process of field implementation and testing. The C&I system consists of a sequence of generic modules which could be applied internationally in temperate forests by specifying and addressing local conditions. These modules are: the formulation of goals and objectives for the FMU; the identification of local forest management standards for defining indicator norms; the application of the set of C&I; the assessment of C&I performance in comparison to objectives and norms, as well as the application of adaptive management procedures. 2. White Pine Regeneration Study In cooperation with Dr. Peter Duinker (Dalhousie University), Dr. Sean Thomas (Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto) and Dr. Bill Cole (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR)) , the regeneration patterns of white pine are being examined. North of Lake Huron, forest stands are characterized by a supercanopy of old white pine and an advanced understory of poor-quality hardwood (especially sugar maple). The project focuses on ecologically-based management of such stands, making use of existing datasets (collected earlier by OMNR) on stand dynamics and responses to previous silvicultural treatments under management guidelines which have since been revised. Recommendations for further possible revisions to the management guidelines will be one of the products of this work. 3. Sustainable Forest Management through co-management in Northwestern Ontario This research is directed by Dr. Shashi Kant and is funded through a grant from the National Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Forest Management to Dr. Kant, Dr. Balsillie and Dr. Katharine Rankin (Department of Geography, University of Toronto). This grant is supporting the research of Ph.D. candidate, Peggy Smith. The two main objectives of this research are: 1: to develop a framework for designing co-management institutions; and 2: to design co-management institutions, using the development framework, with a specific First Nation in the Boreal West Region of Ontario. Publications (last five years): Balsillie, D. Comparison of three certification systems in use in Canada with the requirements of the German Magazine Publishers for the framing of forest certification. Paper commissioned by the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association: July, 2000. Lautenschlager, R. A., Holly MacLeod, Chris. Holstedt, and David Balsillie. Examining the “specifics” approach to identifying local indicators of sustainable natural resource management. The Forestry Chronicle: 2000 (in press). Papers in Conference Proceedings: Mrosek T.and D. Balsillie (in review). Criteria and indicators for the sustainability of non-timber forest products and services at the local level. Case study at the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Ontario. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Streamlining Local-level Information for Sustainable Forest Management in Vancouver, British Columbia from August 28-29, 2000. University of British Columbia. Mrosek T.and D. Balsillie (in review). Development and testing of a criteria and indicators system for sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level. Case study at the Haliburton Forest & Wild Life Reserve Ltd., Ontario, Canada. Proceedings of the International Conference on Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management at the Local Forest Management Unit Level in Nancy, France from 21.3.-25.3.2000. European Forest Institute. Poster Sessions at Conferences: Mrosek T.and D. Balsillie. 2000, May. Application of a criteria and indicators system for sustainable forest management at the forest management unit level. Poster session presented at the National Forest Millennial Conference on Forest Sustainability Beyond 2000 in Thunder Bay, Ontario from May 14-18, 2000. Major Research Papers by Master of Forest Conservation Students Supervised By David Balsillie: Burkhardt R. (1999). A gap analysis of the requirements for Forest Stewardship Council certification of Sustainable Forest Licence companies in Ontario. Students Supervised By David Balsillie Burkhardt R. (1999). A gap analysis of the requirements for Forest Stewardship Council certification of Sustainable Forest Licence companies in Ontario. Current Graduate Students
|
