Structural Impediments to FSC Certification in Alberta:
Overcoming Barriers to Well-Managed Forests

A joint publication of the

Alberta Wilderness Association, Albertans for a Wild Chinchaga, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (Edmonton Chapter), and Federation of Alberta Naturalists

November, 2001

Full Report in PDF Format (1.6 MB)

Executive Summary

Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The ecological integrity of Alberta's forests is being seriously impaired through progressive fragmentation and loss of habitat resulting from the activities of the forest and petroleum industries. Significant improvements in forest management policy at the provincial level are necessary if the Alberta forest industry is to stay abreast of market trends.

The world market for forest products is changing rapidly as major purchasers and consumers indicate their preference for wood products that can be independently certified as coming from well-managed forests. Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification is currently the only demonstrably independent system that has broad international support from indigenous people and other forest users, industry, retailers and conservation groups. Seven percent of the world 's industrial wood consumption is now FSC certified. Three of the five largest wood buyers in the world -IKEA, The Home Depot and Lowes -actively support the FSC.

This report identifies two fundamental structural impediments to well-managed forests in general, and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in particular, that need to be addressed by the Alberta Provincial Government. These impediments are: 1)The lack of a scientifically-defensible protected areas network in Alberta; 2)The inability of Alberta 's forest industry to manage forests for ecological sustainability due to the activities of Alberta 's petroleum industry.

Structural impediments are considered barriers to the successful implementation of sustainable forestry that are beyond the ability of the forest industry to change, should it wish to meet the requirements of FSC certification. Given rapidly changing market forces, such impediments must be overcome to maintain access to world markets and to maintain market share.

The FSC has 10 Principles to evaluate whether forests are well-managed. Principle 6 of the FSC, for example, requires the conservation of biological diversity and the maintenance of ecological functions and integrity of the forest. It is well established that two forest management approaches are necessary to achieve these objectives -the establishment of a network of scientifically-defensible protected areas, and the implementation of ecologically-based management on the industrial land base. Protected areas must be designated to ensure representation of all ecoregions and to maintain natural processes (including natural disturbance regimes, which are responsible for much of the structure, pattern, and ultimately biodiversity of the boreal forest). Such a network of protected areas does not exist in Alberta.

Ecological forest management requires managers to maintain the forest structures and patterns characteristic of natural systems. This requires long-term planning that incorporates explicit ecological targets (for both stands and landscapes) and operational strategies to achieve those targets. To ensure that these plans can be successfully implemented, the FSC 's Principle 2 and Principle 7 state that forest managers must hold adequate tenure and use rights to the land and be able to manage for the long-term.

In spite of tenure agreements, forestry companies in Alberta do not have complete control over the cutting of trees in their management areas. In particular, activities related to the exploration and development of oil and gas resources annually result in a total area of forest clearing that approaches that of the forest industry. These activities include the cutting of seismic lines, the clearing of well sites, and the construction of roads, pipelines, and power lines. Even though the activities of the petroleum industry have a tremendous impact on the structure and integrity of the forest, there are no regulatory nor policy limits on the annual rate of cutting, no requirements for reforestation, and no requirements for integrated long-term planning with the forest industry.

The inability of the forest industry to control or even predict profound changes in landscape structure that are occurring because of petroleum industry activities effectively precludes their ability to successfully implement plans for ecological forest management.

If sound forest management and FSC certification of forests is to be possible in Alberta, the two structural impediments must be addressed in the following manner: 

1. The Alberta Government must establish a network of scientifically-determined representative protected areas for each ecoregion (Natural Subregion)that are capable of maintaining species and ecosystem biodiversity. These can serve as ecological benchmarks. Since these sites alone will not be able to capture all of the ecological diversity of northern Alberta, additional protected areas of smaller size will be needed to represent unique localized landscape features (e.g., sand dune complexes),areas of particularly high diversity (e.g., major river corridors),and the specialized habitat needs of rare or endangered species (e.g., peatlands and/or old-growth forest for caribou). 
2. Until Alberta 's network of protected areas is complete for all the ecoregions in which a forest company is operating, the government must allow the company to protect from all industrial use a representative ecological bench- mark and locally-occurring habitat of rare, threatened or endangered species to enable FSC certification. 
3. The Alberta Government must reform Alberta petroleum tenure and planning regulations to ensure that petroleum industry and forest industry collaborate to achieve long-term forest planning and sustainability.

CONTENTS

i Executive Summary ................................................................................................................................iii
1.Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................1
2.Forestry in Alberta ...................................................................................................................................1
2.1 Forests ............................................................................................................................................1
2.2 Forest Industry .......................................................................................................................................1
2.3 Forest Policy ............................................................................................................................................2
3.The Changing Market for Forest Products and the FSC ....................................................................................................................3
3.1 Shifting Demand .....................................................................................................................................3
3.2 The Forest Stewardship Council ..............................................................................................................3
3.3.Other systems ..........................................................................................................................................5
4.Structural Impediments to FSC Certification in Alberta ....................................................................................................................5
4.1 Protected Areas ........................................................................................................................................5
4.1.1 FSC Principles and Criteria Relevant to Protected Areas ..........................................................................6
4.1.2 Existing Situation in Alberta ....................................................................................................................6
4.1.3 Protected Areas Reforms Required for FSC certifications ....................................................................................................................................9
4.2 Petroleum Industry ..................................................................................................................................9
4.2.1 FSC Principles &Criteria Relevant to the Petroleum Industry ...............................................................10
4.2.2 Existing Situation in Alberta ..................................................................................................................11
4.2.3 Petroleum Industry Reforms Required for FSC certifications ..................................................................................................................................14
5.Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................14
References.............................................................................................................................15