Canada is a global leader in sustainable forest management

1. 1) Canada’s rate of deforestation is [virtually] zero and has been for over two decades (United Nations FAO State of the World’s Forests report issued in March 2007).

2. 2) Canada has world leading forestry practices and regulatory regime – conclusion of an independent third party report conducted by Dr. Benjamin Cashore, Associate Professor of Sustainable Forest Policy, and Chair of the Program on Forest Certification at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

3. 3) Canada is home to 30% of the world’s boreal forest. The remainder is found in other large forestry nations such as Russia (50%) and Scandinavia – Finland, Sweden and Norway – (about 20%).

4. 4) 93% of Canada’s forests are publicly owned and regulated. This provides assurance that companies operating on these lands are bound by: comprehensive legislation and enforcement; 20-25 year forest management plans; rolling 5 year development plans and site specific annual operational plans; and forest management plans subject to public review prior to approval.

5. 5) Canada retains more (91% [1]) original forest area than any other country in the world.

6. 6) Only one quarter of Canada’s forests are managed for commercial use. The vast majority (70%) of the boreal region remains un-accessed. Of this only .5% (1 million hectares) is harvested annually. By law, all harvested areas must be promptly regenerated.

7. 7) Canada has more protected forest (over 40 million hectares [2]) than any other country – 28 million hectares of these protected areas occur in the boreal.

8. 8) Canada has the most hectares [3] of certified forest- 75% of which is in the boreal) 3^rd party independently certified forests (CSA, FSC, SFI) in the world.

9. 9) Canada is home to over 40% of the world’s certified forests; and its area of certified boreal forest is 3 times larger than any other country’s area of certified total forest.

10. 10) Canada’s forest products industry is a global leader in climate change mitigation. Members of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) have reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 44% since 1990 – seven times Canada’s Kyoto targets.

[1] [Source: World Resources Institute Data Tables, 2000-2001]

[2] [Source: A Global Overview of Forest Conservation, WCMC, UNEP, CIFOR, 1997]

[3] [Source: Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition, June 2007]

International Panel on Climate Change

"In the long term, a sustainable forest management strategy aimed at maintaining or increasing forest carbon stocks, while producing an annual sustained yield...will generate the largest sustained mitigation benefit." (IPCC, 2007)