Friends of the Earth: Briefing: Sustainability and Logging In Canada's Forests

Sustainability and Logging In Canada's Forests

"This country is a world leader in developing forest management policies...for achieving sustainable forestry. There is no doubt that Canada is a world superpower in forestry" [1].

"At the current rate of logging, it is estimated that there will be no substantial ancient forests left on the coast of British Columbia by the year 2008" [2].

Introduction

The temperate and boreal forests of Canada have long been considered a limitless resource. There have been few controls on logging, and forests have been 'mined' rather than managed. The Canadian authorities now claim to be moving towards sustainably managed forests, but continued clearfelling of old growth forest has resulted in Canada being branded the 'Brazil of the North' [3].

This briefing will examine current forest management practices in Canada and assess whether they are sustainable. Sustainability is considered under the four categories of timber yield, economic, social and ecological sustainability.

Background - Canada and its Forests

Canada's forests cover an area of 416.2 million hectares (an area nearly three times the size of Europe) [4], the majority of which is boreal forest with some temperate forest including temperate rainforest. This represents 10% of the world's forest cover [5]. Of this forest area, 236.7 million hectares are considered to be 'productive' (economically exploitable) [6]. Nearly three-quarters of the productive forest lies in three provinces: British Columbia (38%), Quebec (18%) and Ontario (15%) [7]. These three provinces account for 73% of Canada's timber harvest although other provinces such as New Brunswick (10.7%) and Alberta (5.5%) are becoming more prominent producers [8,9].

64% of Canada's forests are of softwood species; broad-leaved (hardwood) forests account for 15%, and mixed forests 21% [10]. The softwood species, spruce, pine, fir, hemlock and cedar, account for the bulk of Canada's wood production.

Approximately 90% of Canada's productive forest land is owned by either Federal or Provincial Government although there are differences between provinces. Under the constitution, the provinces are responsible for forest management. Each province has its own legislation, regulations, standards and programmes through which it allocates logging rights and management responsibilities. However, the ultimate responsibility for Canada's forests lies with the Federal Government.

The productive forest land is leased by the authorities to logging companies in blocks which are known by a variety of different names such as the euphemistically titled Tree Farm Licence (TFL), or Forest

Management Area (FMA). These licences are usually granted for periods of about 20 years [11]. Logging companies have in the past been allowed to exploit these areas almost completely unchecked. As a result of public protest, forest management guidelines have been developed in some provinces, although their implementation remains largely voluntary.

Canada is one of the world's major exporters of forest products. The majority of exports go to the USA and Europe, within which the UK is a major importer.

Sustainability

Timber yield

Sustainable timber yield is a measure of whether the forest is being managed in such a way that levels of production of timber at any given time can be maintained in the future. The Canadian authorities and industry strongly believe that sustainable yield has been achieved.

According to 1993 Government figures, the estimated net annual growth of Canada's commercial forest is 251 million cubic metres of wood (this is a summation of all of the growth in plantations, secondary forests and old growth forests) [12]. Across Canada, limits set to timber harvesting (the Annual Allowable Cut), which are set by the provincial authorities, totalled approximately 247 million cubic metres in 1992 [13]. The actual harvest of wood is reported by the authorities to have been an average 169 million cubic metres over the last ten years [14]. This suggests that the rate of logging is both well below the rate at which wood is being grown, and within the limits set by the authorities.

However, the total figures conceal a number of problems. The actual harvest increased to 191 million cubic metres in 1987, and although it is reported to have fallen back to 162 million cubic metres in 1991, it is not clear whether this is the result of changes in logging or simply from statistical manipulation. Most of the difference between the total AAC and the actual total cut is due to substantial 'under-harvesting' of broad-leaved, hardwood species. For softwoods, which represent 90% of Canada's harvest, the amount logged actually exceeded the AAC in 1989 [15]. Also, the logging of pulpwood is not necessarily included in the AAC [16].

The problems of over-harvesting have, to an extent, been recognised. In 'The State of Canada's Forests, 1992', Forestry Canada (the Government forestry agency) stated that: "In some regions of the country, the supply of timber is adequate to sustain harvest levels in the short to medium term. However, in other parts of Canada the harvest has reached allowable cut level, particularly for softwood species. The quality of the resource is also changing as large softwood sawlogs become increasingly difficult to find, as the species mix changes, and as the age of the harvested trees declines" [17].

This view has been reinforced by environmentalists in British Columbia (BC) who state that: "...the truth of the BC forest industry is that many mills are currently running out of wood due to unsustainable logging practices, and unsustainable rates of harvest are being allowed to continue" [18]. Some forest companies in British Columbia are having to supply their mills with wood from Alaska, Manitoba and Saskatchewan [19].

There is also a huge amount of uncertainty about both the actual rate of logging and the amount of wood which is growing. Growth rates are recognised as being only "approximately estimated" [20]; in other parts of the world, even detailed forest inventories have been shown to be subject to high margins of error, as much as 50% in one case [21].

There thus appears to be little or no empirical evidence for the ability of Canada's forests to sustain current timber yields even in the medium term, let alone over longer periods. It is generally accepted that true sustainability cannot be demonstrated until three harvests have taken place over a given area [22]. Given that the fastest growing trees are harvestable in 20 years, a study of this kind would take at least 60 years [23]. In fact, far from maintaining levels of harvest, AAC's have had to be progressively reduced in a number of provinces.

In Canadian government and forest industry public relations' material, much importance is attached to efforts to replant logged land. According to official data, the area planted in 1991 was 461,408 hectares [24]. However, this only represents just over half of the area harvested that year, and gives no indication of the area which is replanted but where reforestation is unsuccessful. According to one observer: "[each year] an area the size of Prince Edward Island [570,000 ha] fails to re-establish itself and may never re-establish itself" [25]. Forestry Canada, has calculated that an average of 129,000 hectares is added each year to the amount that "does not regenerate with commercial species within an acceptable period of time" (ie ten years) [26].
As a result of the failure to replant, or of replanted areas to regenerate, there are now a total of about 4.37 million hectares [27] of logged forest lands that remain denuded (an area more than twice the size of Wales).

The timber economy

The economic sustainability of logging practices depends largely on the full value of a forest's resources firstly being recognised, secondly being realised and thirdly being of benefit to forest communities. It is also important that the governments of timber producing countries or states should not use economic incentives to promote unsustainable logging.

Whilst forest products represent a significant part of Canada's GDP ($17.5 billion in 1991) and bring in substantial export earnings ($20.6 billion) [28], there is much evidence that forest resources are substantially undervalued [29]. Some scientists have called for natural values to be included in the prices of forest resources; " Prices of wood and other products do not tell the ecological truth. Soil erosion, decimated fisheries, and other environmental costs of production do not show up in market prices, leaving timber underpriced and forests undervalued" [30].

Stumpage rates - the fees which companies have to pay to the authorities for each quantity of timber felled or extracted - are amongst the lowest in the world. In Alberta, for example, stumpage collection between 1989 and 1994 averaged less than one-third of the Government expenditure on forest management [31]. Rates for softwoods are as low as $2.00 per cubic metre, compared to between $10 and $35 for softwoods in the USA and Scandinavia [32].

Furthermore, roughly half of Canada's forest product exports leave the country in relatively unprocessed and low value form, particularly as woodpulp and lumber [33]. In 1984, in British Columbia, the average value added to logs was $56.21 per cubic metre whereas in the USA the figure was $173.81 per cubic metre [34]. In Alberta, a stand of 16 Aspen trees, each 16 metres high, fetched royalties of about $1.40 in 1989. The same quantity of Aspen was worth $950 when converted to bleached kraft pulp and the paper produced from that pulp was worth between $1,300 and $2,000. Nearly 90% of the pulp mulched in Alberta went abroad which meant that most of the value of the trees was being gained outside Canada [35].

The failure to fully realise the value of Canada's forests is partly due to the dominant role played by a limited number of large corporations. Access to timber resources - and thus ability to determine logging policy and practices, as well as timber prices - has become increasingly concentrated. In 1954, for example, the largest ten companies held 37% of harvesting rights in British Columbia, but by 1990 this figure had risen to 69% [36].

In Alberta, two Japanese- controlled companies, Daishowa Marubeni International Ltd and Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc (ALPAC) (controlled by Mitsubishi Corporation), have been granted logging rights to tracts of land covering 17.5% of the land area of Alberta [37]. Daishowa's Forest Management Agreement (FMA) covers 4 million hectares and ALPAC's covers 7.34 million hectares [38]. These two FMAs give just two companies effective control over an area larger than the combined area of Switzerland, Holland and Belgium. The Manitoba Government granted one company, Repap Enterprises Ltd, rights to more than three-quarters of the province's prime forested lands [39]. Although there are more than 8,000 forestry products companies operating in Canada, the top ten of these employ 30% of the forest industry workforce [40].

Both the Pearse Royal Commission of 1976 and the Forest Resources Commission of 1991 identified this monopolisation as a major problem affecting the forest sector [41], and both made recommendations for reform [42]. Apparently neither Federal nor Provincial Government has taken heed [43].

Not only have the authorities allowed control of the forests to slip into the hands of powerful corporations, they have also actively subsidised logging activities. It has been estimated that Alberta taxpayers have contributed more than a billion dollars in subsidies to forest industries, or roughly $320,000 per job created [44]. Federal and Provincial Government provided Daishowa-Marubeni with more than $80 million in grants [45] for infrastructure development for logging in Alberta, even though the company had failed to resolve disputes over aboriginal land rights. Alberta also gave ALPAC Forest Industries Ltd a $300 million loan and $75 million worth of infrastructure improvements [46]. The Manitoba Government provided Repap Enterprises with $240 million in loan guarantees [47].

Despite the fact that Canadian logging companies obtain their wood more cheaply than almost anywhere else in the world, provincial authorities cover costs for reforestation as well as subsidise logging development. In 1991, for example, the Government of British Columbia spent nearly $190 million on silviculture. In the same year, total Government (Provincial and Federal) expenditure on silviculture amounted to some $572 million, whilst industry contributed less than half this amount [48].

In summary, the provision of substantial subsidies, the concentration of power within a few large corporations, and the undervaluing of resources all seem to militate against the development of sustainable forestry practices in Canada.

The logging industry and society

Sustainability of forestry operations is not only determined by the ability of the forests to generate stable supplies of timber in an economically efficient way, but also upon the extent to which those operations are acceptable for the wider society. Thus, sustainable forest policies would recognise the importance of interactions between people and the forest, would ensure that long-term employment and community stability are maintained; that there is public participation in forest management decision making; that rights of indigenous peoples are respected; and that recreational, amenity and cultural values of forests are maintained or enhanced.

Canada's Forests have obvious economic importance but they also have cultural and social significance. Canadians value their forests as a source of recreation. The forests in Canada also support a multibillion dollar tourism and recreation industry [49], as well as being important to Canada's national identity.

Although there are indications that the Canadian forestry authorities are becoming more open to public debate, they have not always been willing to divulge the information required for that debate to be fully informed. In Alberta, for example, "detailed estimates of timber volumes are proprietary information to the FMA (Forest Management Agreement) holder and are not publicly available". In the case of one logging concession in Alberta, information made available only through a leaked source revealed that initial inventories over-estimated by thirty per cent the amount of timber available [50].

Expressions of widespread public concern over the activities of the forest industry have often been largely ignored or suppressed. For example, a petition against the leasing of huge tracts of Alberta's forests gained 300,000 signatures (one-eighth of the province's population), but resulted in only slight amendments of policy. During 1993, draconian measures were adopted to prevent demonstrations against logging in British Columbia, with many protestors, including the elderly and juvenile, being imprisoned.

As well as disregarding public opinion, a number of reports have stated that, the Albertan Provincial Government also ignored its own legislation in order to "speed up" the construction of a pulp mill and the corresponding allocation of logging rights [51]. In the words of one article in 1989: "Today, Alberta stands as the only jurisdiction in North America where 221,000 square kilometres of public forests maintained by public dollars can be signed away without public hearings" [52].

A particularly contentious issue has been that of employment within the forest industry. Traditionally, governments and industry have played the environmental movement and forestry workers off against each other by fuelling fears that increased environmental protection will lead to significant job losses [53]. The overall level of direct employment in the forest industry has been falling for many years; nearly 60,000 jobs, out of a total of 348,000 were lost between 1989 and 1992. However, the decline has been due to increased intensification and mechanisation and not because of stricter environmental regulations; the number of jobs per thousand cubic metres of timber harvested has fallen from 3.8 in 1944 to 1.5 in 1987 [54]. Canadian environmentalists have argued that the adoption of less intensive forestry practices such as selective logging, coupled with reform of tenure policies, could help to maintain both the forest ecosystem and levels of employment [55]. There are some examples of successful small-scale forestry [56].

The policies that promote intensification and 'short- termism' not only affect overall levels of employment but can cause localised 'boom-to-bust' fluctuations in employment levels in different areas and thus instability in forest communities. For example, following large-scale retrenchment of forestry workers in British Columbia between 1979 and 1985, a logging boom in 1986 created 13,000 jobs, but many were quickly lost again in areas depleted of wood [57]. According to the Sierra Club, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, scene of intense conflict between the logging industry and environmentalists, "Most of the best and most accessible timber has already been liquidated from the South Island, and the forest companies have closed down sawmills and plywood plants directly affected by the shortage of locally available timber. The timber based economies of many local communities have never recovered" [58].

Logging and Indigenous People

The Canadian logging industry has also failed to respect native peoples' land claims. The authorities have repeatedly stated that they will negotiate with indigenous peoples' representatives, but few if any disputes over rights to forest lands have reached a satisfactory settlement. Logging permits in disputed areas have often been granted by the authorities.

For example, the Lubicon people have for many years been attempting to negotiate rights to their 4,000 square mile (10,000 sq km) unceded territory in Alberta [59]. In February 1988, the Alberta Provincial Government announced the construction of a $550 million bleached kraft pulp mill by Daishowa Marubeni International Ltd [60]. The pulp mill would be situated outside the disputed Lubicon territory, but on completion it would consume over 4 million trees a year [61]. These trees would come from a 40,000 square kilometre timber lease granted to Daishowa by the Alberta Provincial Government [62], which completely covers the traditional territory claimed by the Lubicon [63].
Seven years later this dispute has still not been settled. Although, according to the Lubicons, Daishowa made a verbal agreement not to log in their territory until the dispute had been settled, the Lubicons allege that logging has subsequently continued by Daishowa subsidiaries [64,65]. In response, the Lubicon people have called for an international boycott of Daishowa- Marubeni products.

The Algonquin Indians of the Barriere Lake region, Quebec are also faced with an onslaught from logging operations, as well as recreational hunting and hydroelectric development [66]. In 1991, the Algonquins entered into a trilateral agreement with the Governments of Quebec and Canada, but there has subsequently been a catalogue of disputes over its application. A high court judge appointed to mediate between the parties found that the Governments of Canada and Quebec had been in breach of the agreement [67]. In 1993, the Quebec Government unilaterally suspended the agreement [68], and only re- entered it after concerted pressure from the Algonquins.

These cases seem to highlight an unwillingness on the part of the Federal and Provincial authorities to relinquish areas of forest claimed by native peoples where these have the potential for providing substantial revenue to industry and Government coffers.

Logging and the ecology of Canada's forests

Forest management operations should maintain the critical ecological functions of the forest and minimise adverse impacts on biological diversity, water resources, soils, non-timber resources, and unique and fragile ecosystems and landscapes.

The ecological importance of Canada's forests is unquestionable; "These natural ecosystems are marvellously diverse complexes of plants, animals, soil, water and air. Our forests are the product of thousands of years of evolution and adaptation to change" [69]. It is also obvious from statements such as the one above, and; "Canada is one of the few developed nations still richly endowed with large areas of natural forest" [70], both from Government publications, that the Canadian Government is proud of its forest heritage.

Currently legal protection is afforded to 22.8 million hectares (5.5%) of its 416.2 million hectares of forest land, and another 24 million hectares are not to be logged under present policy. A further 156.6 million hectares are at present not economical to log, although could be in the future if other areas become exhausted [71].

However, these figures disguise the fact that some of the most ecologically diverse areas of forest in Canada are subject to some of the most devastating logging practices in the world.

The most publicised of these areas is the temperate rainforest of the West Coast of Canada and especially Vancouver Island. This forest type, although not as species rich or diversified as the tropical rainforest, is the most productive (in terms of biomass) forest ecosystem in the world [72]. These forests contain some of the largest trees on the planet, threatened species such as the Marbled Murrelet and, it is believed, many species yet to be identified. Recently, limited research in the forests of the Carmanah Valley, Vancouver Island revealed 60 species of invertebrate new to science [73].

Large tracts of the temperate rainforest are covered by Tree Farm Licences, permitting complete clear- felling. About 60% of Canada's temperate rainforest has already been destroyed and, according to the Federal Government, at the current rate of logging, all of the unprotected, commercially valuable ancient temperate rainforests could be logged out by the year 2020 [74]. Although the Provincial Government of British Columbia is very vocal about its protection policies, less than 7% of the coastal temperate rainforest in British Columbia has been protected from logging [75]. On Vancouver Island, of the 170 larger watersheds, only nine are still pristine and only two are protected [76].

Areas that have been set aside for protection are often the most barren areas, whilst the biologically most productive are still subject to logging [77]. For example, on Vancouver Island, current parks protect only 4.5% of the ancient temperate rainforest but they protect 20% of the bog/non-productive forest and 90% of the alpine tundra and mountain tops [78].

At least 22,000 square kilometres (an area the size of Wales) of British Columbia's rainforests have been destroyed by the logging industry [79]. The authorities defend the destruction of these forest ecosystems by pointing to the efforts made to replant after felling, again euphemistically termed 'second growth'. However, it is thought that the biodiversity of the old growth rainforests could only be restored over geological timescales, if at all [80].

Much of Canada's forest is what is known as boreal forest or taiga. This forest type is characterised by coniferous species such as Spruce, Pine and Fir and broad-leaved species such as Alder, Birch and Poplar [81].

The taiga is home to large mammals such as grizzly bears, elk and cougar (which has become Eastern Canada's most endangered land mammal) [82] and it is the only habitat of the woodland caribou, the Baird owl and more than 100 plant species [83]. The more sizeable predators and ungulates need large areas of forest to maintain viable populations, although estimates of these areas vary. It is, however, generally recognised that clearcutting is breaking up these habitats and that habitat fragmentation is threatening the long-term survival of some boreal forest species [84]. There is also concern amongst scientists that both the total amount and the individual sizes of both designated and proposed reserves will not be enough to support viable populations of these species [85].

In some cases even nature reserves are not properly protected from logging. As one environmental group points out: "Even Wood Buffalo National and World Heritage Park [in Alberta] haven't escaped exploitation. Huge tracts of old growth White Spruce are being harvested, thus putting the future of the world's largest free-roaming herd of bison at stake" [86]. The Nopiming Reserve in Manitoba also contains forest that is being logged [87].

It is in the taiga that some of Canada's largest logging concessions, like those in Alberta, and largest clearcuts occur. According to Canadian environmentalists, as of 1993 Ontario was still allowing clearcuts of 100-200 hectares and clearcuts of up to 100 hectares were occurring in Alberta [88]. 100 hectares is approximately equal to the area of 150 football pitches.

The climate and soils of taiga forests do not always encourage easy regrowth of forests and there is concern that logged areas will not restock. Canadian environmentalists have stated that, in Saskatchewan, over 1 million hectares is classified as Not Sufficiently Restocked (NSR) [89]. This amounts to 54 years worth of harvesting in Saskatchewan at 1993 levels [90]. Even with this level of environmental degradation the Provincial Government has been granting massive timber licences to transnational corporations, such as the 24 year lease granted to Weyerhaeuser (a US based forest company) in 1986 covering 7 million hectares of North-Central Saskatchewan [91].

All of the factors mentioned above, from large-scale clearcut logging to fragile soils, are leading to the degradation of old-growth forests in Canada's taiga belt. Current indications suggest that many of the species that are dependant on this type of forest are declining, threatened or endangered and, if these practices continue, may in future face extinction [92].
In response to widespread concern at, amongst other things, the loss of Canada's forest biodiversity, the Federal Government in 1992 launched Sustainable Forests; a Canadian Commitment. This took the form of a statement of intent, a number of guiding principles and a 'framework for action' signed by forest ministers from all of the Provincial Governments. However, this document did not include any commitment to legislate for biodiversity conservation or preservation and only promised that: "Public and private forest management agencies will develop guidelines for forest management to protect genetic, species and habitat diversity" [93].

A number of Provincial Government agencies have now proposed guidelines, codes of ethics or principles for biodiversity conservation in forestry operations [94]. However, these measures have been widely criticised by Canadian environmentalists for lacking "teeth". One author, in criticism of the BC guidelines, stated that: "existing guide-lines are routinely ignored and the Ministry of Forests fails to penalize....Both the existing and the proposed biodiversity guide-lines are legally meaningless and without force....Without legislation the [proposed] guide-lines will have no more significance than previous guide-lines" [95].

A recent study by Tripp Biological Consultants Ltd in Coastal British Columbia showed that all of the nine companies investigated had flaunted forestry environmental guidelines. The best records were those of MacMillan Bloedel and Husby Forest Products who both had a compliance rate of 80%. The worst offender was Interfor whose compliance rate was a pitiful 50% [96]. To date, the penalties for breaches of the forestry regulations, where these exist, have often been insufficient to deter bad practices, and the authorities have anyway proven reluctant or unable to bring prosecutions.

Even though they have one of the better records of compliance with the regulations studied in the Tripp report, in 1992 and 1993 MacMillan Bloedel were involved in no less than five incidents of unauthorized logging for which they were fined a total of $109,700 [97]. In April 1994, MacMillan Bloedel were fined approximately $206,000 for illegal logging in Clayoquot Sound [98]. According to the BC Forest Service: "...since the company has committed similar infractions in the past the maximum penalty possible under the Forest Act is being imposed" [99]. It remains to be seen whether this level of fine acts as more of a deterrent than in the past.

Poor forestry management in Canada is not only affecting biodiversity, but is also taking its toll on soil and water systems. Soil erosion is mainly caused by road construction and clearcutting. British Columbia is one of the worst affected provinces; "The landscape throughout British Columbia is scarred by soil erosion, avalanche tracks, landslides and burned out areas, all related either to the removal of all forest cover on steep slopes....or to the building of logging roads" [100].

Soil erosion has caused a decline in water quality in many of British Columbia's waterways, affecting aquatic lifeforms such as salmon. This in turn affects both the Canadian Indians that rely on fishing and the grizzly bears and orcas that feed on salmon at spawning time [101].

The soil erosion problems caused by poor forestry management in the boreal forests of Canada are just as acute. The boreal forest environment is very harsh and productivity is therefore low. When a large amount of biomass is removed (such as when clearcutting takes place) a significant proportion of the nutrient store of the forest is lost and thus its ability to regenerate without intensive management is severely impaired [102]. The physical effect of this nutrient loss is that large tracts of land have "not sufficiently restocked" since felling took place, as mentioned earlier with Saskatchewan [103].

According to Government studies, the cost to the economy of British Columbia of soil degradation due to logging practices was over $1.5 billion between 1976 and 1993, increasing by $10 million every year [104]. No estimates have been found for the rest of Canada.

Conclusions

Canadian Governments, both Federal and Provincial, have gone to great lengths in recent years to publicise both their present environmental record and the 'progress' being made towards 'sustainable forestry' [105]. This, coupled with the mobilisation of the forestry industry's publicity machine has meant that millions of dollars have been spent on "talking up" Canadian forestry.

However, actual achievements have been few and far between. In all of the major forestry provinces, the logging of old growth forest is continuing apace with, in many cases, what are effectively voluntary management restrictions. These forests are being sold off to multinational companies at prices that take little account of the forests' economic worth, let alone their ecological worth.

Yet, even with the information that is now available, in most cases, effective legislation to control the profligate exploitation of this natural resource has not been implemented. At present, in most provinces, the environmental laws governing forest exploitation and management are extremely lax. Japanese multinationals such as Mitsubishi and Daishowa have been encouraged to engage in logging activities which would be illegal in their home country [106].

The BC Provincial Government did in fact draft new forestry legislation in November 1993 entitled British Columbia Forest Practices Code. Whilst this new code could increase protected areas, require more rigid management restrictions on logging companies and raise the level of fines imposed, existing legislation has not been utilised as well as it could, and the authorities have been reluctant to commit themselves to rigourous enforcement [107]. Also, the code still sanctions clearcutting old growth forest, does not ban logging on steep slopes, fails to fully recognise native peoples' land claims and completely ignores the issue of the tenure system highlighted by the 1991 Forest Resources Commission [108]. The Provincial Government of British Columbia intended that the Forest Practices Code would become law in Spring 1994 but it was in April 1995 that it finally became legislation [109].

Canada is in a unique position in that it has some of the largest tracts of temperate and boreal old growth forest left in the world and that it has the knowledge and the wealth to be able to manage them sustainably. The evidence as presented in this briefing sheet clearly suggests that it is far from sustainable at present, the main failings being:

the erosion of biodiversity due to the unceasing logging of ecologically important old growth forest, and their replacement with plantations of very limited value, especially in the west;
doubts over the means by which the annual growth increments and Annual Allowable Cuts have been determined and adhered to;
the continuing saga of unresolved land rights disputes;
continued heavy reliance on high volume exports of low value products;
an apparent lack of community stability and long- term employment opportunities;
continued Government support, encouragement and in some cases subsidy for unsustainable logging.
Canadian environmentalists have called for wide ranging reforms of forestry policies and practices, including:
an end to clearcutting in old growth forest;
land tenure reform as suggested by the 1976 and 1991 forestry commissions;
the development and implementation of new legislative controls on logging practices;
the recognition of native peoples' land claims;
the development of new models of forest management; ie ecoforestry, ecotourism, co- management with indigenous peoples and intensive forestry zones.

Forestry Companies in canada - The British Connection

No discussion of forests and sustainability is complete without mentioning the issue of the over-consumption of timber and paper products in the northern countries such as the UK, USA and Japan. Our demand for wood products is putting an unsustainable demand on the global forest estate [110] and a significant proportion of the UK demand is met by Canadian exports.

The UK imports £500 million worth of Canadian forest products every year. In 1991, 24% of plywood exports from Canada came to the UK. 27.5 % of wood pulp and newsprint and 36.6% of coniferous sawnwood imported by the UK was from Canada [111]. Information is given below on some of the major forestry corporations operating in Canada and their connection with UK markets.

In 1991, the top six Canadian forestry corporations in terms of sales included, MacMillan Bloedel, Canadian Pacific Forest Products Ltd (now called Avenor Inc), Abitibi-Price and Repap Enterprises Inc [112]. In 1993 Canada's top two paper and board producing companies in terms of output were Abitibi-Price and Avenor Inc [113].

As well as the major Canadian companies, there are also a number of large foreign multinational companies such as Mitsubishi Corporation and Fletcher Challenge Ltd that have substantial forestry operations in Canada.

MacMillan Bloedel

According to their 1990 Annual Report, MacMillan Bloedel (MacBlo) control 1,050,000 hectares of commercial forest in British Columbia [114]. Of this, 106,000 ha are in Clayoquot Sound, where they hold Tree Farm Licence no.44, and 3,000 ha in Carmanah Valley (6,616 hectares according to the 1989 Annual Report), two of the most contentious logging areas in the world.

According to Who Owns Whom 1993 MacBlo wholly owns four subsidiary companies in the UK which are Hygrade Corrugated Cases Ltd, MacMillan Bloedel Holdings (UK) Ltd, MacMillan Bloedel Containers Holdings Ltd and MacMillan Bloedel Pulp and Paper Sales Ltd [115].

In 1993 the "UK, Europe and Other" accounted for 7.1% of MacBlo's Building Products sales, 8.6% of Containerboard and Packaging sales, 12.7% of Newsprint sales and 55.3% of Pulp sales. The main markets for most of MacBlo's products are the USA and Japan [116].

MacBlo's Annual Environmental Report 1993 states that, "MacMillan Bloedel Limited is committed to excellence in environmental management... MacMillan Bloedel will comply with all applicable environmental laws...We also understand that as managers of public forests, we must be accountable for what we do, and we must be worthy of the public's trust" [117].

Despite these claims, MacBlo has repeatedly breached forestry laws and guidelines. In April 1994 MacBlo was fined approximately $206,000 dollars for illegal logging in Clayaquot Sound. The forest service also seized 900 cubic metres of timber [118]. In July 1993 MacBlo was penalised $47,200 for felling road right- of-way without a permit in the Nahmint river valley. In August 1993 MacBlo was penalised $31,600 for felling road right-of-way in the wrong location near the Klanawa river. In October 1993 MacBlo was penalised $4,500 for felling road right-of-way without a permit in the Great Central Lake area. These three incidents happened outside Clayaquot Sound but inside TFL 44 [119]. NB Felling road right-of-way means that they were felling trees to make way for a road.

MacBlo were also involved in two other incidents of unauthorized cutting in Clayaquot Sound in 1992 for which they were charged $27,000 [120].

The Port Alberni (a town on Vancouver Island) Loggers Union has, since 1991, been advocating that MacMillan Bloedel lose its lease rights in TFL 44 [121].

Fletcher Challenge CANADA Ltd

Fletcher Challenge is New Zealand's largest public listed company.

Fletcher Challenge Canada (FCC) controls approximately 3 million hectares of forest in Canada, all of which are in BC [122]. About 462,000 hectares of this are in coastal BC; on Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands, and the rest, about 2,538,000 hectares are in the BC interior [123].

In 1992, FCC harvested about 3.55 million cubic metres on 12,267 hectares of land. 95% of this wood was harvested by clearcutting and 5% was harvested using alternative practices [124]. Approximately 1.7 million cubic metres of this was logged from 2,255 hectares of its coastal forests and 1.85 million cubic metres was logged from 10,623 hectares of its interior forests [125]. This means that FCC gets 748 cubic metres per hectare from its coastal forests and 175 cubic metres per hectare from its interior forests. According to FCC's own environmental report, 80% of this coastal harvest is from old growth forests [126].

FCC holds one of the much disputed Tree Farm Licences (TFL), Number 46, on Vancouver Island. This TFL covers approximately 120,000 hectares and includes part of the Walbran Valley. It used to include part of Clayoquot Sound until Fletcher Challenge sold that part of TFL 46 to Interfor. The portion that Interfor now owns is called TFL 54 and is 60,000 hectares in size [127].

In its 1993 Environmental Policy Statement FCC said, "Fletcher Challenge Canada will meet or exceed all Government requirements applicable to its operations" [128]. In a report published by Tripp Biological Consultants in 1994, it was shown that FCC had a compliance rate of just 63.5% with the BC Coastal Fisheries Forestry Guidelines in its Vancouver Island and Queen Charlotte Islands forests [129].

In the UK, Fletcher Challenge owns four companies: Fletcher Challenge Forest Industries Plc, Fletcher Challenge Finance UK Ltd, William Guppy & Son Ltd and UK Paper Plc which owns five other UK Paper subsidiaries and operates three paper mills [130].

Repap Enterprises Inc.

In 1989 Repap Enterprises Inc held licences to forests totalling some 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares), 1.9 million acres of which are in Northwest British Columbia, and are "used in the manufacturing of northern bleached softwood kraft pulp" [131]. Their huge concession in Manitoba is described by the company as "...probably the last economically viable block of high quality northern softwood fibre in Canada" [132]. Repap also operates forest in New Brunswick [133].
Although the company has no UK subsidiaries, it claims that "Repap British Columbia's premium northern bleached softwood kraft pulp has a market leadership position in Europe..." [134].

Mitsubishi Corporation

According to correspondance received from the Mitsubishi Corporation, "The name 'Mitsubishi' is probably best known for motor vehicles. Mitsubishi Corporation does not manufacture these nor other products bearing the Mitsubishi name, but is a trading company; like some other Japanese companies it has overseas forestry interests, including some in Canada" [135].

In Alberta the Mitsubishi Corporation has a share in the Alberta Pacific joint venture which has built a huge pulp mill and has been granted a corresponding timber licence to supply the mill [136]. This joint venture is between Kanzaki Paper (25%), MC Forest Investment Inc (35%) and Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd (40%). Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd has a 100% share in a company called Alberta Pacific Forest Industries Inc (ALPAC) which is acting as an operator on behalf of the joint venture [137].

Mitsubishi Corporation owns 85.72% of MC Forest Investment Inc and 26.78% of Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd. Honshu Paper also owns 26.78% of Crestbrook which means that these two Japanese companies have a controlling interest in Crestbrook. Therefore, between them, Mitsubishi, Honshu and Kanzaki have a controlling interest in ALPAC and the Alberta Pacific Joint Venture [138]. Pulp production from the mill is marketed by MC Forest Products Inc which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation. In 1994, 15% of ALPAC's production came to Europe [139].

In Alberta timber licences are known as Forest Management Agreements (FMAs). This FMA gives the licensee, "management rights for establishing, growing and harvesting deciduous and coniferous trees on a perpetual sustainable basis for a period of 20 years, renewable every 20 years subject to satisfactory performance and mutual agreement of terms" [140].

According to Crestbrook's 1991 and 1992 Annual Reports the FMA granted to ALPAC was 6.1 million hectares. However, according to Crestbrook's 1993 Annual Report the FMA covered 5.5 million hectares. This discrepancy in Crestbrook's figures (600,000 hectares) may look small on paper but it is equivalent to approximately 1 million football pitches. Friends of the Earth asked Crestbrook about this discrepancy but the company was either unwilling or unable to provide an answer [141]. As well as this massive timber licence, the Government of Alberta have also provided a subordinated loan for the ALPAC project, the balance of which stood at 274 million Canadian dollars in 1993 [142].

5.5 million hectares is 8.5% of the total land area of Alberta. Crestbrook Forest Industries Ltd states that, of the 5.5 million hectares, "Almost half of the FMA area is wetland or other land not suitable for timber production. Sixteen per cent is allocated as reserves, including land for lake and river buffers, ecological reserves and old growth stands. The area which ALPAC manages for its fibre requirements comprises just under 25% of the total FMA area. Of this 25%, the plan is to harvest approximately 1% per year" [143]. According to the Alberta Department of Environmental Protection, "the areas [that are not suitable for commercial production] are not contiguous and it is not realistic to exclude these smaller scattered areas from the FMA" [144]. It should be borne in mind that, according to Crestbrook, these areas comprise 75% of the FMA area.

In late 1994 Crestbrook Forest Industries was being sued by Revenue Canada (Canada's equivalent of the Inland Revenue) for transfer pricing [145].

In British Columbia, Mitsubishi is 45% shareholder of the Canadian Chopstick Manufacturing Company (CCMC) which makes disposable wooden chopsticks (about 9 million pairs a day) and claims to be the largest disposable chopstick manufacturer in the world [146]. The company has a 20-year forest licence. It has been reported that up to 85% of the aspen cut in the concession is wasted [147].
Mitsubishi also has a 40% stake in Mayo Forest Products, which has sawmill operations on Vancouver Island [148].

Mitsubishi owns at least five subsidiary companies in the UK [149]. According to Mitsubishi Corporation (UK) Plc, Mitsubishi import "only small quantities of pulp" into the UK but, "exact quantities are confidential information" [150]. This pulp originates from Alberta [151].

Avenor Inc

Avenor is one of the largest forest product companies in the world. It employs 9,000 people and has three 'business groups': the Newsprint Group, the Pulp Group and the White Paper Group. Avenor has also recently created two subsidiaries, St.Laurent Paperboard Inc (100% owned) and Pacific Forest Products Ltd (51% owned). Pacific Forest Products is a wood products company and controls four of the five mills/plants in BC and one of the four mills/plants in Ontario that are mentioned below. Up until 18th March 1994, Avenor Inc used to be known as Canadian Pacific Forest Products Ltd [152].

In 1993, the total sales of the three groups and the two subsidiaries were $1,776.8 million. The sales from the newsprint & pulp groups amounted to 53% of the total [153]. In 1993 Europe accounted for 8% of Avenor's Newsprint sales and 16% of Avenor's Pulp sales [154].

Avenor's operations are mainly in British Columbia (five mills/plants), Ontario (four mills/plants) and Quebec (five mills/plants). They also have a 67% stake in a newsprint mill in New Brunswick and a 40% stake in a newsprint mill in Washington USA. One of the mills in BC, Nanaimo, is owned by Mayo Forest Products in which Pacific Forest Products holds a 60% ownership [155].

Avenor and its subsidiaries control 95,000 square kilometres of woodland which is an area larger than the whole of Portugal. Pacific Forest Products harvests 2.3 million cubic metres of wood per year in BC. In Ontario Avenor harvested 3.4 million cubic metres in 1993 [156].

In 1989, Canadian Pacific Forest Products Ltd (as Avenor was then known) managed 102,647 square kilometres of forest [157], including: Ontario (52,483 sq km), where it is "the largest holder of timber cutting rights" [158]; Quebec (41,061 sq km); New Brunswick (5,119 sq km) and British Columbia (3,984 sq km) [159]. It is likely that these proportions are similar today.

Avenor Inc has one office in the UK - Avenor Services Ltd, 4 Grosvenor Place, London SW1X 7HD [160].

Canfor Corporation

Canfor holds logging licences in British Columbia (605,246 ha plus a 'sustained yield' of 3,410,737 cubic metres in its volume-based forest licences for which an area is not specified) and Alberta (344,497 ha plus an 'annual yield' of 252,498 cubic metres in its volume-based forest licences for which an area is not specified) [161]. Canfor also buys in logs from other tenure holders, farmers, native Indian communities and other private landholders, and chips/waste materials from sawmillers and other wood products producers [162]. The ratio of the amount of wood that Canfor buys in to the amount that the company logs is normally approximately 50/50 [163].

In 1989 the company logged approximately 21,000 hectares and reforested 17,170 hectares [164,165]. In 1994 the company logged 5.4 million cubic metres from 15,440 hectares and reforested 21,788 hectares [166]. According to the company, "most of the trees Canfor harvests are from original 'old growth' forests" [167].

Canfor's products include pulp, plywood and hardboard, lumber and woodfibre. In 1989 29% of its total sales, including 62% of pulp sales, were to Europe. These figures dropped to 13% of total sales and 47% of kraft pulp sales in 1994 [168]. The company's 1994 annual report says that 12% of lumber sales were to overseas customers, principally in the Pacific Rim and Europe and that: "In the United Kingdom and Europe, the demand for lumber is expected to be healthy during 1995"; and, "..increased shipments to the United Kingdom are expected during 1995" [169].

Canfor wholly owns Balfour Guthrie Forest Products Ltd, which has an office in the UK, through which it sells lumber in Britain [170].

Abitibi-Price inc

Abitibi-Price (AP) is a Canadian-based forest products company and is a major manufacturer of newsprint and uncoated groundwood papers. AP operates ten mills in North America, eight of which are in Canada [171].

In 1994 AP produced 1,936,000 tonnes of newsprint and 484,000 tonnes of groundwood papers and its net sales amounted to C$ 2,111 million. Of the newsprint production, about 66% of sales were in the USA, 8% in Canada and the remaining 26% in Europe, Asia and Latin America [172].

AP manages almost 7 million hectares of forest land; an area greater the whole of the Republic of Ireland. These forests lie largely in the Boreal belt of the eastern half of Canada, in Quebec, Ontario, and Newfoundland [173].

Province	Hectares
Ontario	2,406,200
Quebec	2,381,800
Newfoundland	2,167,400
USA (Georgia & S Carolina)	22,075

Source: Innes.M (Forestry Manager - Abitibi-Price Inc), (8/5/1995), personal communication.

Abitibi-Price were criticised by Canadian environmentalists for logging and road-building in Nopiming Provincial Park in Manitoba in 1994 [174]. The company has since sold its stake in the Nopiming forest although it has an agreement with the new owner to market newsprint produced using wood from this forest [175].

What you can do

Reduce consumption of timber and paper products.
Reuse timber and paper wherever possible.
Recycle timber and paper wherever possible and use recycled timber and paper.
Write to the Canadian Government expressing concern about the management of Canadian forests. The address to write to is; Canadian High Commission, Macdonald House, 1 Grosvenor Square, London W1.