"We" are the people, Craig, and in my neck of the woods we direct provincial policy, just as we lobbied to get rid of the gun registry. We're in the midst of a provincial election, and here's our op-ed in Saturday's provincial newspaper of record, as I mentioned earlier. We don't ask, we don't wait for crumbs to fall like charity from government and industry. They come to us because we own the land. Without responsible activism, we deserve what we get.
"Nova Scotia fell from leader to laggard in the Maritimes by not sticking it to political leaders and their acolytes arriving on our doorsteps promising solutions to seemingly intractable problems if elected. We should be telling them their earnestness means nothing without citizens being involved actively in solving their own problems. It’s perfectly stupid to think politicians have all the answers. It’s time to turn governance on its head.
"Here’s proof it can be done. Nova Scotia is becoming the greenest forest constituency in the world because woodlot owners in eastern Nova Scotia persuaded the government to adopt its acclaimed sustainability program to meet its forestry objectives. The Province said it was “the only solution” for sustainable forests and financially sustainable programs after reviewing 600-plus recommendations and an expert panel that fell apart in acrimonious debate. The Province and federal government through Enterprise Cape Breton Corporation are joining as partners. The mills and Nova Scotia Power are lining up to contribute.
"Next month the Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association (NSLFFPA) anticipates signing a contract with the Province to take over Cape Breton Island private lands management---silviculture, sustainable certification, monitoring, extension, roads etc as a one-stop service--- in a voluntary pilot program with North Inverness Forest Management and Baddeck Valley Wood Producers as equal partners. The Province plans to extend similar regional landowner-directed programs across the province once the kinks are worked out on Cape Breton Island, possibly within 18 months.
"Next May the international Rainforest Alliance will give global recognition to the Association by awarding it the prestigious Sustainable Standard-Setter Award, the only one given each year globally to a community-based organization, for its “vision to make sustainability a priority and the dynamism to make it a reality. Its continued success protecting both the environment and the interests of woodlot owners has made the NSLFFPA a sterling example to the industry”
"All achievements of the spirit without top-down bureaucratic or technocratic interference, and a radical institutional change in governance from simple application of demonstrated cooperation, competence and imagination. Imagine the dividends of applying the formula to health care!
"Kingsley Brown is an Antigonish County woodlot owner and sustainability coordinator of the Nova Scotia Landowners and Forest Fibre Producers Association."
(I'll be wearing my formal Highland dress, clan Lamont, at the big gala presentations at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC next May. Maybe I'll see you there!)
