Why is the forestry industry important to canada
Canada's Sustainable Forests: topics including timber, biodiversity and the boreal forest
Canada's magnificent forests an ocean of
trees that scrape the sky and stretch
out from coast to coast a living
breathing storehouse of plants and
animals that provide a wealth of
resources for our survival and
well-being Canadians simply love our
forests and want to keep them forever
there's a lot to love Canada holds 10%
of the world's forests cover and 30% of
all boreal forests that's more than four
hundred million hectares of forest and
other woodland four million Canadians
live and work in the forests some nine
hundred thousand hectares are harvested
every year but that's less than 1% of
the land available for commercial forest
activities that's partly because of
canada's forest laws an independent
study by Yale University associate
professor Benjamin cushaw shows that
Canada has emerged as a world leader in
aggressively improving its practices in
sustainable forest management there's no
question that Canadian industry has been
highly proactive on forest certification
efforts Canadian forest products
industry is extremely innovative in
requiring all of its companies to be
certified according to one program or
the other on its forest lands Canada's
forest sector has made sweeping changes
to the way it operates there are new
methods of managing ecosystems to ensure
they support healthy wildlife
populations biodiversity must by law be
protected rivers and streams must be
buffered from tree cutting special
consideration must be made for soils so
that they're not eroded roads and
bridges must be constructed to high
standard to ensure that there's no
damage to fish habitats communities are
involved in every region from coastal
rain forests to the boreal Northlands
it means that people talk to governments
and industry about how they want the
forests developed and preserved the
public values its right to influence
what goes on in their forests Canadians
are heard directly through a variety of
public participation programs set up by
provincial governments a number of
provinces have enacted forest protection
acts the channel public input to shape
the highest standard for forest
sustainability in the world
in short ethical forest decisions must
incorporate the views of all Canadians
and respect Aboriginal and treaty rights
Canada openly welcomes other countries
to compare forests professionals code of
ethics is that we're not only
responsible to what we do in ethical and
what we do but responsible to the public
which is really key boss were
responsible to our employer and to our
clients and we're responsible to the
land to make sure that what we're doing
is good for now and for the future 20
years ago
Canada became the first country in the
world to develop a national forest
strategy under the direction of the
Canadian Council of Forest Ministers the
strategy guides Canadians in ongoing
work to sustainably managed forests the
values addressed include timber wildlife
habitat water quality recreation and
biodiversity forests are part of the
people they have played a huge role in
the European settlement of Canada and
its development into a great nation
forests are essential to our health and
to the health of the world forests
produce fresh air filter water store
carbon and safely house plant and animal
species Canadians understand the
richness of this legacy and our global
responsibility canada's state-of-the-art
harvesting techniques mirror its
improved standards of practice
a common method that is right for canada
is clear cutting it's suited to the
ecology of most forest sites in canada
with results similar to natural
disturbances such as wildfire or wind
storms
other harvesting techniques such as
shelter wood or retention systems are
used when there is a need to maintain a
wildlife habitat or to protect scenic
vistas about one-fifth of canada's logs
and pulp would come from private wood
lots and forests they also provide under
provincial guidelines maple sugar fuel
wood and Christmas trees and let's not
forget fun and recreation Canada is a
trading nation Forest Products are big
business crucially important to this
country's economy exports are valued now
at more than forty four billion dollars
a year in 2004 Canada exported more
forest products than any country in the
world the forest industry employs nine
hundred and twenty thousand people
that's almost six percent of Canada's
entire workforce amazingly the
industry's footprint is smaller than
ever because companies must return cut
sites to healthy forests after all
forests related tourism is also a
multi-billion dollar industry in Canada
Canada's forests are diverse they
sustainably produce a wide range of
quality products including softwood
lumber newsprint wood pulp and
engineered wood products those wood
products are backed by a national
grading and standard system so house
builders from Tokyo to Rotterdam know
the great qualities of Canadian wood
our biggest export markets are the
United States Japan the European Union
and China with so many customers around
the world it's no wonder that Canada has
the highest amount of land certified to
voluntary market-based forest
certification programs that means buyers
of Canadian would know the product comes
from forests that are managed on sound
environmental practices the three
systems used in Canada are the Canadian
standards Association the Forest
Stewardship Council and the sustainable
forestry initiative by January 2006
Canada had about 120 million hectares of
land certified by third-party auditors
that's an area more than twice the size
of France and it's growing every year
certification is all important in
today's user market one of Canada's
largest lumber customers is Mitsui homes
Japan's biggest home builder Canada so
there are bountiful forest resources and
it's well managed and it's satisfied by
a sustain of forest an agenda program it
is the power of the consumer that drives
the wood market more and more those
consumers want to buy from companies
that practice good forest management
that means certification and Canada is
clearly the world leader in third party
certified wood our products represent
the best environmental choice for
customers around the world
Canada achieves this through
cutting-edge scientific research our
scientists study the physiology of
old-growth forests new solutions are
being sought for pest control as well
researchers are developing new
technologies for fast growth forests and
innovative approaches to regeneration
our pulp and paper industry is a global
leader and waste paper recovery and has
had remarkable success in reducing
energy costs and greenhouse gas
emissions
wildfire plays a critical role in the
natural life of the forests but when
fire has to be fine Canada has
state-of-the-art capabilities every year
fires burn millions of hectares of trees
threatening people and property
Canada's eye in the sky radar set
provides firefighting teams with remote
sensing data to locate and identify
burning fires at low cost radar set also
provides researchers with detailed
images such as this one from the
firestorm surrounding Kelowna British
Columbia in 2003 Canada's leadership in
sustainable forest management goes far
beyond its own borders Canada is a
founding member of the Montreal process
it was created in 1994 to implement
internationally negotiated rules on the
conservation of temperate and boreal
forests Canada is also an active
participant in the United Nations Forum
on forests which promotes the
sustainable development of all types of
forests one example of canada's true
diversity is the model forest program
which fostered the international model
forest network the program is a living
laboratory where new ideas emerge in
forest management model forests brings
together organizations with diverse
views on how forests should be managed
in a spirit of collaboration they
develop innovative approaches to
sustainability for example the foothills
model forest program is studying the
effects of development on grizzly bears
to ensure they have the habitats they
need more than 800 Aboriginal
communities are located in Canada's
forests more than 1 million hectares of
reserve lands are suitable for forestry
hunting trapping and fishing over the
past decade some 1,700 forestry projects
have been funded by the First Nations
forestry program it helps combine new
concepts and technologies with
traditional skills one example of
innovation in this area is the
partnership with Aboriginal people which
ensures that ecosystem based forestry is
practiced on the ground in northern
Labrador
the in you nation and the Newfoundland
and Labrador Department of Natural
Resources a formed and unique
partnership to implement a strategic
forest management plan that will help to
enhance cross-cultural understanding and
traditional knowledge of Newfoundland
and Labrador zico systems we have just
the same decision-making power as the
province does in the kind of forest
management that occurs so that means
that deciding how much harvesting
deciding annual level cuts that's
normally left to provincial governments
we have a say in that deciding on the
kind of research projects that are
undertaken in our area it's a unique
partnership and it allows us to really
have a say in the kind of management
that occurs and it ensures that our
culture will live forever sustainable
forest management means all the
stakeholders including industry are on
the same page one example of an
association we've been pushing is third
party certification which basically
bring together all those values related
to water conservation why life habitat
conservation forest management forest
regeneration and so on and third party
certification is a condition of
membership Canada's sustainable forests
are supported by world-class management
practices we've learned to protect our
forest land to study it to harvest it
and to regenerate it
Canadians are sensitive to biodiversity
we prize all the creatures that live
amongst the trees we've set standards
and certification that are second to
none we've listened to our own people
and heard the voices of experts in other
nations but most of all Canadians have
listened to their hearts we love our
forests we're keeping them so everyone
can benefit and enjoy
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