I hope you celebrated the start of 2017 in good spirits with family and friends. Now that we’re a month into the new year, it’s a great time to think about what this year may bring us.
With the launch of our 5-year strategy and twenty years after the establishment of FSC Canada, the organization is well-positioned to expand its impact on the achievement of environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial and economically viable management of Canada’s forests.
In 2017, we have a clear focus to complete our National Forest Management Standard. With the publication of the first draft in 2015, we have put forward considerable effort into listening to our members, certificate holders and stakeholders in order to carefully prepare a second draft. We focused on key parts of the standard including Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and Species at Risk (woodland caribou). The second draft is currently open for public consultation until February 17, 2017 and I encourage you to read and comment on it so your opinions can be taken into consideration toward the final version of the standard. FSC Canada also issued two key documents on Indigenous Cultural Landscapes and Intact Forest Landscapes in order to obtain comments to further develop a successful integration of landscapes solutions within the new Forest management standard.
This year, collaboration will also be key to moving FSC forward, and there will be more opportunities to collaborate when we come together for our Annual General Meeting (May 17, 2017 in Montreal, QC) and during the FSC General Assembly (October 9-13, 2017 in Vancouver, BC).
The General Assembly, which is being held for the first time in North America, brings together over 800 FSC members and stakeholders from around the world, who participate in a unique and democratic forum. With the approval of the FSC Global Strategic Plan last year, the General Assembly will be critical to determine the future direction of the organization and pose a great opportunity for you to help shape the future of responsible forest management.
In 2017, and the years ahead, FSC will continue to work hard to add value to forests and businesses that share our vision, and to build awareness and support with consumers. Our role as leaders in forest certification is to meet the social, ecological, and economic rights and needs of the present generation without compromising those of future generations. On behalf of FSC Canada, we look forward to working with you in 2017 as we continue making huge strides, together, to keep our forests for all, forever.
Francois Dufresne,
President, FSC Canada