One year ago today, the Forest Products Association of Canada and leading environmental organizations signed the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) concerning 72 million hectares of Canada’s globally significant forestland. On this anniversary, the Board of Directors of FSC Canada is issuing this statement to clearly describe our thinking about the CBFA.
FSC is an independent organization that is not a party to the CBFA, nor were we consulted during its negotiations. While we regret not being part of the dialogue, we offer our statement today in the spirit of constructive engagement, and to acknowledge the concerns expressed by First Nations and other stakeholders who were similarly excluded.
We believe the best path forward for the CBFA is to require FSC certification on all forestlands covered under the agreement.
We recognize that certifying millions of hectares of forestland to FSC’s standards will require significant changes in the way some forests are managed, so we also counsel patience to all parties as the CBFA moves into implementation.
Because FSC is built on the core principles of inclusivity and balanced participation, FSC certification would create clear and equitable opportunities for all stakeholders to have a voice in the management of public forestlands licensed to CBFA signatories in Canada. As a result, FSC can help bring parties together and bridge differences between them. And in the not-so-distant future, the FSC will review and revise its National Boreal Standard, offering another opportunity for stakeholder engagement.
FSC stands strongly with all stakeholders - First Nations, forest workers and local communities, along with economic and environmental interests - in pursuit of their goals, identified within the context of the CBFA.
It is important to note that the CBFA will not be creating a marketplace label or certification system of its own. So, to ensure all stakeholders have a voice in the implementation of the CBFA agreement, while also achieving the environmental and economic goals it identifies, we believe FSC certification for all lands covered under the CBFA is the best way forward.
Based on the wide acceptance and support of FSC in the global marketplace, we believe that CBFA signatory companies would achieve the greatest market recognition benefits by choosing to become FSC certified.
We would welcome the opportunity to work with the CBFA Secretariat and signatories over the coming months and offer our support and expertise where appropriate.
To find out more about the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Canada please visit http://www.fsccanada.org/.