Features Environment & Sustainability
Canadian forest industry and environmental groups sign world’s largest conservation agreement (August 01, 2010)

Twenty-one member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and nine leading environmental organizations have reached an unprecedented agreement — the Canadian Boreal Forest Agree…

Twenty-one member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and nine leading environmental organizations have reached an unprecedented agreement — the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement — that applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC members. The agreement will conserve significant areas of Canada’s vast boreal forest and protect threatened woodland caribou.

Under the agreement, FPAC members commit to the highest environmental standards of forest management within an area twice the size of Germany. Conservation groups commit to global rec-ognition and support for FPAC member efforts.

“The importance of this agreement cannot be overstated,” said Avrim Lazar, president and CEO of FPAC. “FPAC member companies and their ENGO counterparts have turned the old paradigm on its head. Together we have identified a more intelligent, productive way to manage economic and environmental challenges in the boreal that will reassure global buyers of our products’ sustainability.”

The agreement calls for the suspension of new logging on nearly 29 million hectares of boreal forest to develop conservation plans for endangered caribou, while maintaining essential fibre supplies for uninterrupted mill operations. “Do Not Buy” campaigns by Canopy, ForestEthics, and Greenpeace will be suspended while the agreement is being implemented.

The agreement includes a commitment to world-leading forest management, joint proposals for protected areas; a life cycle approach to carbon management; and support for the economic future of forest communities; and recognition of conservation achievements in the global marketplace.

Signatory environmental organizations, FPAC, and the association’s companies have begun meetings with provincial governments, First Nations, and local communities across the country to seek their leadership and full participation in advancing the goals of the agreement.

Forestry companies participating in the agreement:

AbitibiBowater

Alberta Pacific Forest Industries

AV Group

Canfor

Cariboo Pulp & Paper Company

Cascades Inc.

DMI

F.F. Soucy, Inc.

Howe Sound Pulp and Paper

Kruger Inc.

LP Canada

Mercer International

Mill & Timber Products Ltd.

NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd.

Papier Masson Lte.

SFK Pulp

Tembec Inc.

Tolko Industries

West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd.

Weyerhauser Compnay Limited

Environmental organizations participating in the agreement:

Canadian Boreal Initiative

Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

Canopy (formerly Markets Initiative)

The David Suzuki Foundation

ForestEthics

Greenpeace

Ivey Foundation

The Nature Conservancy

The Pew Environment Group’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign

(The Hewlett Foundation’s support for boreal forest conservation has been critical to the collective efforts of these groups.)