Canadian Forest Industry Signs Conservation Agreement

by | May 19, 2010

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Twenty-one members of Canada’s forest industry signed an agreement suspending new logging on almost 29 million hectares of the Boreal Forest, according to an announcement yesterday. The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, made with nine environmental groups, will help protect threatened woodland caribou. Environmental organizations Greenpeace, ForestEthics and Canopy, meanwhile, will suspend their “Do Not Buy” campaigns while the agreement is being implemented.

The agreement also applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to members of the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC). According to the agreement, the FPAC signatories will commit to the highest environmental standards for the area. Signatories have agreed to adopt the Forest Stewardship Council’s (FSC) standards for managing the region. The FSC is an international, non-governmental, not-for-profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests.

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. Participants recognize that governments, including First Nation governments, are decision makers within their jurisdictions.

The progress made to reach the objectives laid out in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement will be regularly measured and reported on by a jointly agreed-upon independent auditor.

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