Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thanks to the committee for the invitation to be here today.
I'm here representing the Forest Products Association of Canada, the national voice of the wood, pulp, and paper sector, and the 19 members we specifically represent. I am joined by my colleague Kate Lindsay, who is a wildlife biologist, or a conservation biologist, with the Forest Products Association as well.
The forest sector employs about 230,000 in 200 communities across the country, mostly in rural communities, from coast to coast. Managed lands in Canada total about 230 million hectares across the country, and FPAC members sustainably manage about 90 million of these. To give you a bit of context, that is about two and a half times the size of Germany and about double the size of Sweden. That's just for some geographic positioning.
Given the nature and the breadth of forestry and the way forestry is practised in Canada, the sector is uniquely positioned to play an important role in the discussions related to sustainable resource management, and particularly to conservation and social sustainability.
Examples of what I often talk about as reflecting the conservation ethic, which was referenced earlier here, that exists in the Canadian forest sector include the following: sustainable forest management certification; initiatives to develop conservation planning principles that acknowledge the importance of both fully protected areas and a managed landscape in the context of habitat conservation; our work as signatories to the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, an agreement built on the recognition of the importance of both conservation and a vibrant forest sector; and FPAC's forward-looking vision 2020.
I'll touch on each of these briefly.
First is certification. As a condition of membership in 2001, FPAC became the first industry association in the world to mandate that each of its members certify their forestry operations to one of three sustainable forest management certification systems applicable in the North American context. These are the systems administered by the Canadian Standards Association; the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which is based out of the U.S.; and the Forest Stewardship Council, which actually had its roots in Canada but is broadly an international system as well. All three certification programs are comprehensive and certify comprehensive environmental, social, and economic standards in forest management.
Canada is the world leader in sustainable forest management certification. We have about 150 million hectares certified across the country. That equals about 40% of the world's total of sustainable forest management lands around the globe. Certification bolsters an already strong regulatory framework that exists in Canada. In fact, Canada's forestry regulations and laws have been cited in a study by Yale University as being among the most stringent in the world.
Of the many requirements to become certified, perhaps the most significant or most relevant to this discussion today is the requirement to conserve biological diversity. The exact language among the three certification standards differs, but the fundamental consistency exists around maintaining naturally occurring ecosystems, habitat for species at risk, and habitat with high conservation value. Through certification, the concept of conservation is de facto built into the way we practise forestry in Canada, across the country.
Additional requirements within certification address the protection of riparian areas, or areas around waterways; the protection and maintenance of biologically or culturally significant sites; the use of ecosystem-based management practices; and the development of long-term research programs focused specifically on biodiversity. All of these elements of certification provide for the conservation of important habitat.
A few words about conservation planning specifically.... Over the past decade we have worked both as industry and with partners—some at the table here today—such as the Canadian Boreal Initiative, the Canadian Forest Service, specifically, Ducks Unlimited, just to name a few, on issues that have helped to ensure that necessary and proper attention is given to conservation and stewardship.
Protected areas and sustainable resource management are complementary approaches to maintaining ecological integrity. Protection helps to sustain poorly known and sensitive species and functions, and provides an ecological baseline for comparisons. Because protection occurs on a landscape with resource development, sustainable resource management is also an essential part of comprehensive conservation. Sustainable management helps to support wildlife populations, to facilitate movement of species and populations between protected areas, and to maintain the integrity of aquatic systems.
Conservation plans then inform land use planning processes, where social choices are made with respect to land use allocations in order to achieve ecological, economic, and cultural values. Conservation planning in the forest sector is integral to our operations on a daily basis, and is in effect an exercise to identify strategies to maintain ecological integrity in a way that also addresses socio-economic considerations.
Issues with respect to certification and conservation planning, which I mentioned earlier in my remarks here, are encompassed in some of the work taking place within our activity under the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The CBFA is an historic agreement that was intended to signify a new era of collaboration between the forest sector and the environmental community. It covers 76 million hectares of land across the country, making it the largest conservation and business agreement ever reached in history anywhere in the world.
Implementation has not been without its challenges, and we continue to have them. But developing something as large and complex as an agreement that touches on everything—from forest practices to species conservation, to protected areas, to climate change, to the economic diversity and prosperity of the sector, and recognition for the practices that occur in Canada—is something that was not expected to be anything but hard work. It has been and will continue to be. That said, some of the most challenging work in life can also often be the most rewarding.
Achievements to date include a jointly developed blueprint for caribou action planning. At the national level this is very relevant in the context of SARA, and we believe it is the most comprehensive work of its kind done anywhere. A similar framework has been developed for developing recommendations for protected areas. It's supported by joint science and recognizes that governments, at the end of the day, are the ultimate land use decision-makers.
A win-win conservation plan has been developed in northeastern Ontario that protects caribou while increasing wood supply to northern communities and to mills. So far it has been endorsed by signatories, by communities, and by first nations. We're awaiting provincial government support for implementation and hope to see that soon.
These are just a few examples of the work that's taking place under the CBFA. As I say, it has taken time and will continue to take time, but we're confident we will continue to produce results.
With respect to species at risk, consistent with the rationale behind the initiatives mentioned so far, FPAC continues to participate in activities related to federal legislation. This includes work aimed at effective implementation of the Species at Risk Act. In this context we're keenly interested in the creation or clarification of policy regarding the use of compliance mechanisms such as, for example, conservation agreements, permits, offsets—all of which are contemplated or referenced within the context of the act.
FPAC is also supportive of a stronger and clearer relationship between species recovery strategies and socio-economic considerations as federal government work moves forward.
It's worth noting, as has been stated by others at the table here, that the forest sector operates primarily on provincial crown land. We absolutely see a benefit in creating national conservation objectives, but would highlight the importance of engaging in the process those involved with land management decisions.
I'll finish with a reference to our vision 2020 campaign. The forest sector is actively transforming, and last year we launched vision 2020 to help articulate how we intend, as the forest sector, to reach our full potential as a dynamic and future-oriented contributor to the Canadian economy. Vision 2020 sets out ambitious goals in three specific areas: products, people, and performance.
With respect to products, the goal is to generate an additional $20 billion of economic activity from new innovations and growing markets. With respect to people, it's to renew our workforce with at least 60,000 new recruits, including women, aboriginal people, and immigrants. With respect to performance, most relevant to the conversation we will have here today, it's to deliver a 35% further improvement in the sector's environmental footprint.
FPAC has identified 12 parameters by which we will measure ourselves. They relate, for example, to greenhouse gas emissions, energy, water, and of course, management practices. It so happens that both metrics, with respect to the forest management practices we have identified, have to do with habitat conservation.
With that, I'll conclude and say thank you. I look forward to the discussion.