Compliance and Enforcement Audits of Forest Planning and Practices in British Columbia, 1996-2001

In 1995, in response to the public’s desire for legislation to ensure sound forest practices, the province created the Forest Practices Code and with it, the Forest Practices Board as an independent monitor of Code compliance and enforcement.

Part of the Board’s mandate is to carry out random audits of forest licensees and government in order to assess their compliance with Code requirements. The Board’s first six years have seen steady progress in the nature and scope of the auditing process – from the development of the audit framework in 1995, to the undertaking of area-based audits in 2001. All 2001 audits examined operational planning, and the Board now conducts audits of range use, woodlots and access to oil and gas tenures. This expands our examination of the impact of human activity in our public forests that is subject to the Code and provides greater field-level assessment of the full effects of forest practices on the ground.