Canadian Senators Urge Action to Protect Boreal Forest

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Archives

http://forests.org/web/ -- Discuss Forest Conservation

7/4/99

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by EE

Perhaps realizing their country's own abysmal record in regards to

forest and biodiversity conservation, a Canadian Senate sub-committee

has concluded that "the demands and expectations placed on Canada's

boreal forest have escalated to the point where they cannot all be met

under the current management regime." Six new national parks, and a

landscape planning approach, is called for within the Canadian boreal

forest zone. It is time for the over-harvesting of the World's boreal

forests, and Canada's in particular, to stop. The cry for ancient

temperate forest conservation must be just as passionate and urgent as

for rainforest conservation--the functionality and composition of both

are extremely important for worldwide ecological processes.

g.b.

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Title: Canadian Senators Urge Action to Protect Boreal Forest

Source: Environment News Service, http://ens.lycos.com/

Date: July 1, 1999

OTTAWA, Ontario, Canada, July 1, 1999 (ENS) - The Senate of Canada,

charged with the duty of sober second thought, has issued an

uncharacteristically urgent call for action to save Canada's northern

boreal forests. Boreal forests are the most northerly forests lying

just south of the treeless tundra.

The Senate Subcommittee on the Boreal Forest has released its final

report, "Competing Realities: The Boreal Forest at Risk." The focus of

the report is on ensuring sustainability of the forest. The demands

and expectations placed on Canada's boreal forest have escalated to

the point where they cannot all be met under the current management

regime, the report says.

The subcommittee proposes a natural forest landscape based approach to

managing Canada's boreal forest which is coming increasingly under

siege.

Canada's boreal forest faces threats such as climate change that may

reduce it substantially, ozone depletion, and acid deposition, the

subcommittee said in assessing the situation.

"Portions of Canada's remaining natural, undisturbed boreal forest and

its areas of old growth are now at risk, from both climate change and

over cutting. Highly mechanized timber harvesting is proceeding at a

rapid pace, as is mineral and petroleum exploration and extraction. At

the same time, the boreal forest is being asked to provide a home and

way of life for aboriginal communities, habitat for wildlife, an

attraction for tourism and a place where biodiversity and watersheds

are protected," the subcommittee report said.

The federal government should accelerate the identification, interim

protection and establishment of six new national parks within the

boreal forest zone. A network of protected areas that was promised for

completion by the year 2000 should be completed no later than 2002,

the subcommittee said. Meanwhile, the federal government should not

issue timber or other development permits in candidate park sites, the

report cautioned.

Once established, both national and provincial parks must be truly

protected, with no industrial development allowed, the subcommittee

said.

Subcommittee Chair Senator Nicholas Taylor said, "The Subcommittee

believes that we can and must develop strategies that can ensure the

survival of our threatened boreal forest while still enhancing

traditional forest use and preserving economic and industrial

benefits."

Senator Taylor stressed the urgency of the challenges ahead. "Because

there are no quick fixes and many of the actions we must take may have

a substantial transition period, the window of opportunity for

preserving all of the values offered by the boreal forest is closing

rapidly. We must put our words into action very soon indeed."

In addition to hearings in Ottawa, the subcommittee visited forestry

operations and held hearings in northern Alberta, Saskatchewan,

Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Sweden and Finland. Thirty-

five hearings were held at which 131 witnesses appeared.

The Boreal Forest Subcommittee report makes 35 recommendations. These

address the boreal forest as a home for its inhabitants, as a source

of wealth, as a playground, and as a natural heritage.

In order to accommodate all of the competing demands on the boreal

forest, the Subcommittee recommends that serious consideration be

given to a natural forest landscape based forest use regime that

apportions the forest into three distinct categories.

One category, up to 20 percent of the forest land base, would be

managed intensively for timber production. Because of the vital role

they play in preserving biodiversity, cutting should be limited in old

growth sections of the boreal forest, the report recommends.

Adequate logging buffers need to be established around parks in the

boreal forest, to prevent adverse impacts on the park ecosystems.

A second category, the majority of the boreal forest, would be managed

less intensively for a variety of values, but with the preservation of

biodiversity as the primary objective.

The third category, up to 20 percent of the forest land base, would be

set aside as protected areas to preserve ecologically and culturally

significant areas.

The subcommittee recommends that the federal government use its

existing Constitutional authority regarding aboriginal rights,

fisheries, endangered species, migratory birds, navigable waters and

environmental impact assessment to ensure a strong federal involvement

in Canada's boreal forests.

Federal agencies must live up to their responsibilities regarding

Metis and First Nations in all of their programs dealing with

aboriginal forestry issues, the subcommittee said.

The tax system should be used to promote the conversion of marginal

farmland to wood production and to enhance the expansion of privately

owned woodlots, the subcommittee said.

Canada needs a strong Endangered Species Act that also recognizes the

importance of preserving the habitat on which endangered species

depend for their survival, as has been the case in the United States

since the 1960s, the report says. In both protected areas and managed

forests, governments must ensure the preservation of wildlife habitat,

taking into account the size and connectivity requirements of wildlife

habitat.

All herbicide and chemical pesticide use in the boreal forest should

be phased out as soon as possible.

Maximum road and trail density standards appropriate for the area

should be established and enforced within the boreal forest.

The federal government should fund a comprehensive nation wide forest

inventory, including forest soils and soil organisms. Data for the

National Forestry Database should be collected and recorded on an

ecosystem basis, the subcommittee said.

At the international level, Canada should promote the integration of

the various forest certification systems. Having a number of different

systems would render them all less effective, the subcommittee warned.

For the Senate Boreal Forest Subcommittee Report including all of the

recommendations, visit the Senate website at www.parl.gc.ca/sencom.asp

or contact the Clerk of the Senate Subcommittee on the Boreal Forest

at 613-990-0088 or toll-free at 1-800-267-7362.

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