Certifying Small-Scale Private Forests in Eastern Canada: What Does It Take to Make It Happen?

Abstract

Certification is increasingly important in Canada as a tool for promoting, monitoring, and rewarding sustainable forest management. However, success in certifying large public or industry-owned forests has not been matched by small-scale private forests, which nevertheless provide an important range of social, economic, and environmental benefits. In this exploratory research, we examine the presence and absence of certification systems in three adjoining regions of New Brunswick and Quebec, Canada, reviewing documents and interviewing woodlot owners and representatives of their organizations and the timber industry to identify factors contributing to the success or absence of certification. Industry demand, the role of organizations, and owner interest were highlighted as key factors in certification. However, there is also uncertainty around both the effectiveness of certification in achieving its goals and instability in the woodlot sector. We conclude with a series of questions to guide further research in this field.

Keywords:

• Canada
• forest certification
• forest policy
• forest products industry
• nonindustrial private forests
• sustainable forest management
• woodlots

Notes

Certified annual allowable cut (AAC) of 145.7 M m3 (FPAC 2009) compares with a national AAC of 245.8 M m3 (NR Canada 2007).

Also known as “family forests” and “small-scale private forests,” such forests are typically under 4,000 ha in area and are not owned by a timber processing company (Dansereau and deMarsh 2003).

Woodlots certified through other systems were not covered by this report.

See Birch (1996) for a widely cited baseline study, among many others.

Several acronyms appear frequently in this article. The three principal forest certification standards in Canada are the CSA-Z809, SFI, and FSC. Two other standards are being developed for woodlots: the SLIMF, which is led by the FSC, and the PCWCP, by the Canadian Federation of Woodlot Owners. Woodlot owner organizations are NCWOA in Northumberland and OVPFM in Madawaska (both in New Brunswick) and GFELT in Temiscouata (Quebec). Note that OVPFM and GFELT are French-language acronyms.

CSA Z804 is expected to be finalized in mid-2008.