JOHN T. PIERCE

Biographical Statement
John T. Pierce is a Professor of Geography and Dean of Arts and Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University. He received his PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science. As an economic/resource geographer his research has examined parameters for determining sustainable development; best practices for community economic development (CED); economic restructuring in rural and resource dependent regions; resource policy; land use modelling; and environmental issues related to food production. John Pierce is the author or co-author of many books including the forthcoming book Second Growth, on the practice of CED in forest based communities. From 1992 until 1997 he served as Director of SFU's Community Economic Development Centre. During the first half of the 1990s he served on the review panel of the Federal Government's Tri-Council Secretariat which administered the Eco-Research Program. He is a founding member of SFU's Centre for Coastal Studies and a frequent commentator in BC on resource and community issues. Currently he is a member of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee of the Northern Coastal Information and Research Program for evaluating offshore oil and gas development.

Personal Connection
My research, professional, family and leisure activities have combined to give me an enormous respect for the diversity of the province's land and its peoples. Although I work and live in a metropolitan region, both my professional and personal interests are closely tied to the so-called heartland of British Columbia—the small communities and resource dependent regions of the province. Whether sailing the coastal waters of BC, doing research on community development in resource dependent communities, working with first nations communities or conducting a field trip into the interior for geographers from dozens of different counties, one cannot help but be both inspired by the great natural beauty of the province and the resilience of its people but also dismayed at the damage to the environment and society by mismanagement of the resource economy. Uncertainty and missed opportunities expressed in many different ways have shaken the bedrock of the heartland. And yet for all the change and insecurity there is a positive spirit that we can be more creative and imaginative in building better futures.

To achieve these outcomes will require many different strategies and changes in our thinking. In particular while Vancouver generates enormous wealth and offers huge economic opportunities, it should not be seen in isolation because the heartland plays a vital role in sustaining this leviathan. Our thinking will also have to change with respect to the traditional role and function of the heartland. My personal connection therefore is very much as an observer and participant in the creative destruction and reorganization of the traditional resource based economies of BC.