Forestry certification
Good Wood, Good Forestry
We are working with Aboriginal communities, forest companies, other conservation groups and governments to promote leading-edge approaches to protecting our globally significant boreal forests. Using the power of the marketplace to encourage companies to adopt better environmental practices is a growing worldwide trend. For everything from coffee to lumber, conservation organizations are leveraging global trade forces to reward producers of products that conserve nature and support communities.In Canada, CPAWS is promoting better protection and care of the boreal forest through the market certification program developed by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).- What is Forest Certification?
- What is CPAWS doing across Canada?
- Promoting better forestry What is Forest Certification?
Look for the FSC logo on paper products. FSC was founded in 1993 after three years of extensive international consultation with a broad range of interests, including representatives from environmental organizations (including CPAWS), the forest products industry, the forestry profession, indigenous people's organizations, communities, forestry groups and forest-product certification organizations from 25 countries. This diverse group developed FSC's guiding set of Principles and Criteria that apply to tropical, temperate and boreal forests around the world. FSC certification works through the development of standards for how forests should be cared for. These standards are then used by independent certifiers to assess whether the forests where companies are applying for certification of logging are well managed. Unlike other certification systems, FSC requires companies to meet detailed, rigorous on-the-ground performance measures that have been developed with the support of all of the interests represented in the FSC system – from industry to conservation groups, communities and First Nations. FSC also allows products produced from certified wood by approved manufacturers to carry an FSC label, which means that consumers can quickly identify "good wood" products in stores.
What is CPAWS doing across Canada? CPAWS has dedicated staff working to ensure that the rules (or standards) for forest certification reflect the best science and the best consensus possible between all the groups involved in developing them. Recently, work was completed on a FSC National Boreal Standard. The efforts of CPAWS staff were key to making this standard a significant step forward for forest management in Canada. We have also been direct participants in reviewing on-the-ground certifications, including the certification of the 2 million hectare Gordon Cosens forest in Ontario and plans by Alberta-Pacific Forest Products to have its operations in Alberta certified.
Promoting better forestry CPAWS is also active in encouraging provincial governments to adopt standards for forestry that support FSC certification and that protect the biological diversity and health of our forests. Almost all industrial-scale forestry in Canada takes place on public lands that are licenced to companies, often for terms of 20 years or more. We believe that forestry on public lands should meet the highest standards for ecosystem protection while also protecting other land uses, such as remote tourism and recreation, habitat for wildlife and traditional land uses. Through the Boreal Forest Framework, we are developing a vision for the boreal forest that includes protecting at least 50% of the forest and a requirement for best practices on lands that remain open to resource harvesting. We believe that in combination with a large, interconnected protected-areas system, better forest management can help us retain the wild and remote character of the boreal forest. We are working with governments, companies, forestry associations and the FSC to change the focus of forest management from getting wood to mills to protecting the forest as a living system that supports wildlife, people and communities.