| Managing Alberta’s forests
A coalition of conservation groups has released a new report warning that unmanaged oil and gas exploration and a lack of protected wildland is threatening the future of Alberta’s forestry industry, but industry representatives say they have been working on many of the problems identified in the report for years.
The report by the Alberta Wilderness Association, Albertans for a While Chinchaga, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society and Federation of Alberta Naturalists states that if the Alberta government doesn’t better manage its forests, it won’t become certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) – an international certification that sets out standards for sustainable forestry, and is increasingly being used by the world’s biggest buyers of lumber.
The report says Alberta’s protected forest areas are too small and too concentrated in certain areas of the province, and in some cases the petroleum industry clears as many trees as the logging industry – all of which stand in the way of FSC certification. It calls for more government involvement in both areas.
FSC certification was set up with the input of the forestry industry, environmentalists, labour groups and a number of other stakeholders to lay out guidelines for sustainable forestry practices – three of the biggest lumber purchasers in the world, IKEA, Home Depot and Lowes, have publicly stated they will purchase FSC certified wood over other products.
Cliff Wallis, the president of the Alberta Wilderness Association, says without FSC certification, Alberta runs the risk of losing some of the world’s biggest buyers of lumber.
"Once these larger companies get on board, Alberta will be left behind," Wallis says. "You’re going to end up in a low price, low wage ghetto.... If you can’t sell your wood for the highest price, you’re going to lose out."
Although there currently isn’t enough FSC certified wood to meet customer demand, Wallis says the global trend is moving in that direction.
"We’ve been shocked at how fast this has come about," Wallis says.
However, Larry Skory, director of public relations for the Alberta Forest Products Association, says Alberta already has other certifications that are just as highly regarded as FSC, including the Canadian Standards Association’s National Sustainable Forest Management Standard, and its own certification, called FORESTCARE.
He adds that not having FSC certification hasn’t had any effect on Alberta’s forestry industry.
"We deal with a number of customers in the U.S. and they say they will recognize a number of certifications," Skory says. "The overall trend is to mutual recognition."
Skory agrees that too much forest is cleared by oil and gas production and exploration in the form of access routes and roads, and says logging and petroleum companies have been working together because it serves their bottom line.
"Yes, energy activity... does clear a lot of wood and that wood is obviously wasted," he says. "There’s no question more needs to be done."
Skory also says protected forested areas have been set aside as part of Alberta’s Special Places program, which was a democratic process where industry and conservationalists both made concessions. |
