In your previous question we were talking about innovations in technologies for the industy. This particular line item is focused on the sustainability of that source, the trees. This kind of research is directed towards improving forest health in short, and supporting the industry by identifying and emphasizing the health of specific species that are of economic importance to the country. Some examples would be, for example, in Atlantic Canada where the balsam fir sawfly has been a problem for decades. Funding from the genomics research development initiative has allowed NRCan to sequence the genome of a biological control virus to reduce the population of this very highly destructive insect. Canada now has licensed this biological control to a New Brunswick-based company for commercial use under the trade name Abietiv.
As well, there are other instances that arrive where forest pests become critically impactful on the health of the forest. The GRDI scientists work collaboratively on a Government of Canada priority targeting research on invasive and quarantined species to protect Canada's biodiversity and trade as a whole.