Forestry Solutions

While timber companies are using technology to make it easier to cut trees and to enhance the capacity of their processing mills, in Canada they continue to use one of the most destructive logging method available: clearcutting.

Variations of clearcutting, like variable retention, are used in some regions, but often these amount to no more than clearcuts dotted with clusters of trees that will eventually blow down. In order to conserve what remains of many vital forests around the world, industrial logging methods must be replaced by more ecologically responsible methods that consider all the values of a forest: biological, genetic, and cultural.

Ecosystem-based management

The David Suzuki Foundation has developed a set of principles for ecosystem-based management to guide ecologically sustainable forestry in Canada's temperate rainforest.

Following such ecological principles will ensure that we cut fewer trees and conserve vital forest ecosystems for future generations. These practices can also allow us to obtain more value and jobs from each tree cut. Industrial forestry methods generally benefit large, multinational corporations and cities located far from the forests. One of the tenets of ecosystem-based management is that local communities and local knowledge must be incorporated into forest management planning.

This principle was the basis of the landmark agreement reached between coastal First Nations and the Province of British Columbia in April 2001 that the David Suzuki Foundation helped achieve.

In British Columbia, in order to implement ecologically responsible forestry practices, significant policy reform is required. Our forests team is a key member of a coalition that is seeking solutions to achieve such policy. A proposal by this group outlines what is needed to implement such reforms, including addressing the softwood lumber dispute between Canada and the U.S.

 Responsible forest management is based on ecological sustainability that conserves native species of flora and fauna and their habitat. Rivers and streams must also be protected, and planning must focus on what needs to be retained to support the ecosystem rather than on removing huge volumes of timber.

Links to more information on ecologically responsible forestry:

Forest Stewardship Council  Silva Forest Foundation  SmartWood