A framework for sustainable forest resource allocation: A Canadian case study

Tasseda Boukherroub, Luc LeBel and Angel Ruiz

Omega, 2017, vol. 66, issue PB, 224-235

Abstract: This paper addresses the problem of public-owned forest resource allocation observed in Canada. An integrated framework based on mill abilities to create value (expressed as economic, environmental and social benefits) is proposed. It encompasses three phases: (1) election of sustainable allocation criteria, (2) evaluation of mill performance with regard to the allocation criteria and (3) allocation of wood volumes according to mill performance. The framework is applied to a case study proposed by Ministry of Forests, Fauna and Parks (MFFP) in Québec. It is implemented as follows: first, the international standards, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) are used to identify relevant allocation criteria covering the three sustainability dimensions (economy, environment and society). Second, the Group-Analytic Hierarchy Process (Group-AHP) is used to weight the allocation criteria and evaluate mill sustainability performance. Finally, optimization models are formulated to allocate the wood following two strategies: (1) maximizing the total created value by all mills and (2) promoting inter-firm fairness. The numerical results show that integrating sustainability concerns in the evaluation process has a significant impact on the allocation decisions. Moreover, adopting a wood allocation strategy seeking to guarantee fairness between forest companies is a win–win strategy as it also leads to maximizing the created value with a minimum deviation from the optimal targeted value. Lessons learned from this collaboration with MFFP are presented in order to help other interested researchers and public organizations develop their own roadmap to sustainable public resource allocation.

Keywords: Public-owned natural resources; Wood allocation; Sustainable performance; Value maximization; Inter-firm fairness; Group-AHP (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2015.10.011

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