Sustainability of Whiskey Jack Forest in Ontario - Case Study Example

Is the Government in Ontario doing the best it can to contain the amount of logging and sustain the Forest Industry' Canada is a country known for the huge forests present within its boundaries. Not only do these forests provide the scenic beauty generating huge amounts of profits for the tourism industry present there and impacting the economy of the country, but they also provide jobs and raw materials to the industries around. Of late, we've seen depletion of all the resources the forests can offer and commercialization taking its toll on them and commercialization making inroads into the system. The direct result of all this, is the unprecedented depletion of all the resources present in the area. Ontario is referred to as the 'crown' of forests as ninety percent of the forested lands in Canada fall under the province of Ontario. There are a plenty of questions that come to the mind when trying to understand the dynamics of the forest industry and the roles played by different people who are actually part of the system. Ontario's forest industry has been in the news in recent months as government and industry struggle to address economic challenges and redefine the future of the industry.' The rising Canadian dollar, the softwood lumber dispute, energy prices, outside competition, overcapacity and wood supply issues have all been cited as contributing factors effecting Ontario's struggling forest industry. In response, the Ontario government is considering a package tomorrow to support this vital industry.' Noticeably absent from the debate is a recognition of environmental performance as a key indicator of long-term success and sustainability.'' The ministry of natural resources says that it is doing everything under its jurisdiction to see to it that there is no further damage of the forests but the critics reject this. As a global citizen and a person who has been following up with this issue closely, I can definitely say that the Government has not being doing enough to protect the forests in the area and has been consistently bowing to the pressure by various industries indulging in the logging process in the area. What kinds of changes are needed in the present formulation of laws and policies to ensure sustainability of the forests' These are some of the questions I've attempted to answer through this dissertation. Economic Sustainability Ontario's forest industry has been steadily consolidating over the past 15 yrs. In the year 1991, 24 companies were responsible for processing 90 percent of the wood that was harvested. In the year 2004, 8 companies were found to process the same amount of wood that was being processed by the 24 companies in the year 2004. On the wood supply front, the government was aware of the situation that a 20 year old low in the dip of the supply of the wood was looming largely over Ontario. Even after this, the government involving itself in logging contracts with various companies draws a suspicion over its attitude. Senior industrialists clearly point out that the harvest levels in the forest have been coming down drastically but the government reviews have shown that the harvest rates are above sustainable levels. What does this infer' It can be easily said that with continuing job loss, lower productivity and harvest levels in terms of quality and quantity and decreasing competitiveness in global markets and loss of key ecological issues, Ontario forest industry is not at all economically sustainable as pointed out by the Government. Ecological sustainability For many years, its been widely understood that the continous logging of the forests has clearly resulted in the reduction of bio-diversity, forest composition and degradation of habitat. The rate of logging has clearly increased and experts put the estimates at 6.6 hectares of land per year, which is clearly alarming. In the year 2002, the practice of clear cutting by the industries in that the Environment Commisioner who termed it as "experiment on a massive scale" and observed that it was well placed area under close scrutiny in documented that the Boreal forests which included the Whiskey jack forests were undergoing a significant species conversion. The commissioner warned " The continued commitment to clear cutting in large areas of the original forest seems to run a great risk". Premier Mcguinty has promised to "end the previous governments policy to allow unlimited clear cutting as this causes irreparable damage to our forests". Yet, even today clear cutting accounts to almost 90% of the logging activities. The markets are changing. Over two hundred companies have made commitments to phase out of 'bad' wood, variously defined as ancient forests, old growth or endangered forests and to give preference for products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.' A 2003 report by IBM Business Consulting Services that surveyed 30 large corporate buyers of Canadian forest products discovered clear evidence that environmental criteria now play a key role in purchasing decisions, calling it a "greenward shift" in the market for forest products. '"The shift is real, buyers believe it will continue, and we believe it will have a negative impact on forest regions and producers that do not respond to it." IBM, 2003. However, Ontario seems oblivious to this greenward market shift. Clearly this is a dire environmental concern, but it is also economic. The two increasingly in forestry cannot be separated. Ontario is home to 58 million hectares of forest. The Boreal Forest accounts for the vast majority of Ontario's forest lands, 49.8 million hectares of the province.'' Between 1951 and 1995, 6.6 million hectares of forest were harvested in Ontario by clear cutting. The rate of logging has steadily increased and today almost 200,000 hectares are logged every year.' In 2002, the practice of clear cutting in Ontario was placed under close scrutiny in a report of Ontario's Environment Commissioner who termed it, "an experiment on a massive scale" and observed that it was well documented that boreal forests were undergoing significant species conversion with clear cutting one of the main causes. The commissioner warned, "The continued commitment to clear cutting large areas of the original forest seems to run a great risk that that conversion will continue."' Premier McGuinty has promised to "end the [previous governments] policy of allowing unlimited size clear cuts in Ontario. These massive clear-cuts cause irreparable damage to our forests." Yet, today clear cutting accounts for 90% of all the logging in Ontario. Meanwhile, demand for FSC products is skyrocketing.' In fact, the market for 'sustainable products' estimated at $227 billion this year in the United States is projected to reach $1 trillion annually by 2020. The global market for products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council is now estimated in excess of $5 billion US. "As part of Lowe's ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability and social responsibility, it is our full intention to eliminate sales of wood from environmentally threatened forests, including old growth."' Dale C. Pond, Executive Vice President, Lowe's. "FSC brings key players to the table, giving them a voice to find solutions. Our use of FSC standards puts us at the forefront of demonstrating to customers that we practice responsible forestry." -Frank Dottori, CEO, Tembec Inc. "By adhering to a standard that respects the values of all forest users, including the First Nations, we believe that the public, governments, customers and investors will also see it as a serious commitment to ensure the sustainability of our operations," -Raymond Royer, President and CEO, Domtar Inc It is clear that Ontario's forest industry is at a crossroads. In order to chart a sustainable path forward Ontario must address unsustainable harvest rates and the growing need for comprehensive conservation planning and protection of threatened species. Key opportunities for the industry exist in capturing growing green markets though FSC certification, investing in value added and economic diversification, exploring alternative fiber sources and renewable energy and energy conservation. In the past, the far northern reaches of Ontario's Boreal Forest have been considered too remote and the forests too uneconomical to log. Ontario's northern boreal represents one of the last, big wilderness areas in the world. Today however, the vast forests north of the 51st parallel, currently unlogged and without roads are under threat. However, the federal and the provincial Ontario governments, as well as some First Nations communities have stated that they are committed to industrial expansion in the northern boreal. This area is the traditional territory of many First Nation communities with aboriginal and treaty rights over these areas and that rely on them for their livelihood. Any decisions about how these northern Boreal Forests in Ontario are to be used must respect aboriginal and treaty rights. Done right, Ontario has a tremendous opportunity to ensure that this expansion supports local communities and ensures enough intact forest to maintain ecological integrity and cultural values as well as threatened species such as the woodland caribou.' Done poorly and without proper conservation planning that includes the establishment of large areas off limits to industrial use, this expansion will be ecologically devastating and economically short sighted. Environmentalists, human rights groups and First Nations from Northern Ontario brought a unified message to Queens Park today, asking for no more logging and mining in the Northern boreal forest without the prior informed consent of Aboriginal communities and without the identification and protection of ecological and cultural values through credible land use planning before logging and mining goes forward. "There is a crisis in Ontario's Boreal Forest. This government is mismanaging the last of our great northern forests and ignoring First Nations rights and title. To add insult to injury, they are sitting back and watching the last caribou habitat disappear," said Tzeporah Berman, program director of ForestEthics. "We have reached a crucial moment in Ontario where political leadership is grossly overdue." Much of the Whiskey Jack Forest is in a young, fragmented state, having been recently disturbed by large amounts of fire, wind damage, road building, and logging.'' Over the objection of Grassy Narrows, the Ontario government licensed Abitibi Corporation to log on Whiskey Jack Management Unit until 2024.''' Weyerhaeuser's Trus Joist mill in Kenora, Ontario, uses approximately 42 percent of the wood cut from the Whiskey Jack Forest - 323,726 cubic meters per year.' The remaining wood goes to the Abitibi Fort Francis Mill and the Kenora Forest Products Mill to be used for catalogues and books. "The forest is in rough shape," says Chris Henschel, Manager of Forest Certification at Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society [CPAWS]-Wildlands League.' "Abitibi cut almost all of the woodland caribou habitat in the forest between 1999-2004 that was still there after earlier logging periods. I don't know if the caribou - which is a threatened species - will survive here."' A recent report on the Whiskey Jack Forest completed by CPAWS found that: The current harvesting level cannot be sustained for even 20 years. The company's estimate of available wood is based on unrealistic assumptions about how much the forest can produce each year. She added the premier's very own provincial forestry committee encouraged the government to issue a moratorium on any further resource development in the northern boreal until land use planning was implemented. Not only did McGuinty ignore the recommendation, he has since approved a diamond mine that has an ecological footprint four times the size of Toronto, and plans to extend industrial logging further north than ever before into the Valhalla Forest, an unlogged, intact area that is critical caribou habitat. At the same time, the requests for a moratorium on logging and rights and title of Grassy Narrows have not been honored as logging continues at Grassy Narrows despite a peaceful three-year logging blockade by the Grassy Narrows First Nation and an independent assessments that wood supply and logging in their traditional territory is unsustainable. "We have watched Abitibi Consolidated and Weyerhaeuser clearcut our land, destroy our traditional ways of life, and had our trap lines are disappear," said Steve Fobister, Band Council Member of the Grassy Narrows First Nation. "The Ontario government just looks the other way and refuses to address our concerns." This month, Amnesty International reported on the situation in Ontario to the United Nations. "Amnesty International is increasingly concerned that the right of Indigenous peoples, such as the Grassy Narrows First Nations, to hunt, trap and gather food and medicinal plants on their territories is not adequately recognized or protected in Ontario," stated Craig Benjamin of Amnesty International Canada. Politically, there has never been a better time to launch a green transformation in the boreal forest. Each day, Canadian media outlets are flooded with debates about how best to achieve urgently needed reductions in our collective carbon footprint - usually focusing on the necessary cuts in carbon-dioxide emissions from our vehicles, industry and Alberta's tar sands. Often overlooked is the fact that logging activities in Canada's woods are a significant contributor of greenhouse-gas emissions. Some estimates suggest that these are more than the collective emissions released from every single passenger vehicle in the country. Simply put, protecting the carbon stored in the boreal forest's trees, soils and peatlands is one of our best defences against global warming and provides a complementary strategy to a renewed effort to meet the targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol and beyond. But it is 2007 and the clock is ticking. Nearly four years have passed since Mr. McGuinty made his promise. Under his leadership, little progress has been made toward an effective plan to ensure the protection of Ontario's boreal woods. In fact, significant parts of Ontario boreal forest are now scheduled to be logged, threatening both carbon stores and imperilled species like the woodland caribou. Similarly, Mr. McGuinty has not deferred mining and other industrial development in Northern Ontario , as at least nine First nations and 11 conservation groups have asked. Unless Ontario can move quickly to Fulfill its promise for conservation planning and an eco-friendly forest economy Today, we believe that Ontario has a choice to make. As steward of our public forests, the province has a unique opportunity and tremendous responsibility to keep the carbon in the boreal woodlands. We believe the right choice is to act decisively by crafting a plan to invest in better management and protection of Ontario's natural ecological wealth. This plan would include . Creating certainty for industry and benefits for local communities by planning for conservation and development in the boreal forest, and deferring forestry and mining development until that plan is complete. Protecting a significant amount of caribou habitat within boreal forest areas that were allocated to mills that have closed. Committing to keep the billions of tonnes of carbon in the intact boreal forest. Supporting the certification of Ontario's forest practices by the Forest Stewardship Council and instituting a policy to ensure the Ontario government purchase only certified wood products and paper Helping to market Ontario's forest products in global markets as sustainably harvested. Read More