Forest Management In Ontario

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Forest Management In Ontario
Steve Allen Industry Services Officer OMNR
Forests Division November 13, 2008
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Overview

• Ontarios Forests
• Evolution of Forest Management
• A glance back in time
• Todays Managed Forest
• Legal and Policy Framework
• Public and Stakeholder Involvement
• Forest Management Planning
• Forest Tenure (Licensing)
• Allocation of Crown wood supplies
• Preparing for Tomorrow
• Drivers
• Objectives
• Proposed actions

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Ontarios Forests
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Ontario Context

• 107.6 million ha
• 87 public land
• 46 natural state
• 66 forested
• 42 managed

Area of the Undertaking (AOU)
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Ontarios Forest Regions
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Quick Facts Ontarios Forests

• 2 of the Worlds forests
• 17 of Canadas forests
• 21.8 million hectares of Ontarios Crown forest
  is available for forest management (20 of total
  Crown lands)
• most common tree species black spruce
• annual allowable harvest area 350,000 hectares
  (0.5 of forest, 1.6 of area allowing harvest)
• average annual harvest area 220,000 hectares
  (0.3 of forest, 1.0 of area allowing harvest)
• average annual area of forest fires 245,000
  hectares

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Evolution of Forest Management
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1960s 1980s Crown Management Unit Era

• Economic / Social Climate
• Industry growing
• Large operational forest management workforce and
  budgets
• Many MNR offices/regions
• Economic development of north Perceived as the
  Government
• Growing public interest
• Planning Philosophy / Approach
• Crown Timber Act and multiple use
• Focus on timber management (sustained yield)
  with constraints
• Unsophisticated plans
• Limited consultation
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Crown had a greater role belief that we had to
  do it all due to pre 60s era
• Crown led most operations roads, nurseries,
  renewal, some tendered sales, etc.
• On company units, industry planned and led
  access and harvest operations and occasionally
  did renewal under agreements
• Licensing System

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1980s 1990 Forest Management Agreement
(FMA) Era

• Economic / Social Climate
• Industry to be funded for operations
• Lack of Govt funding to meet FMA commitments in
  late 1980s
• Far greater sensitivity to stakeholder concerns
• Planning Philosophy / Approach
• Planning became more sophisticated but still
  focused on timber
• Shift from multiple use to sustainable
  development
• Environmental assessment of forest management
  commences
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Government transfer of operational
  responsibilities to industry
• Private sector says we can do it better
• Crown still managed many units but were under
  funded
• Licensing System
• Forest Management Agreements signed
• Crown management units still exist
• Some tendered sales 1000s of timber licences

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1990s 2000 EA - CFSA - SFL Era

• Economic / Social Climate
• 1992 economic slow down followed by stable
  growth
• Downsizing of MNR
• New Business Relationship with forest industry
• Growth in OSB sector competitive processes
• Planning Philosophy / Approach
• Final Timber EA with Terms and Conditions
• New Crown Forest Sustainability Act / New Forest
  Management Planning Manual
• A move to Sustainable Forest Management from
  timber management
• OLL and Ontario Forest Accord
• Licensing System
• Converted FMAs to SFLs
• Converted Crown Management Units to shareholder
  SFLs
• Priced timber administratively
• Established Trusts for dedicated renewal funding
• Roles and Responsibilities

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2000 present Era of Industry Transformation

• Economic / Social Climate
• Can moves toward parity with US US housing
  crash
• SLA 2006 - High energy costs
• Sophisticated marketplace ENGO campaigns
• Increasing Aboriginal demands
• Forest Sector Strategy
• Environmental Challenges
• Planning Philosophy / Approach
• Forest EA renewed and revised FMP Manual (2004)
• Licensing System
• Sustainable Forest Licences
• Increasing number of shareholder SFLs
• Few Crown management units
• Roles and Responsibilities
• Industry says take it back we cant afford it
  all
• Crown reassumes responsibility for

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Todays Managed Forests
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Comprehensive Legal and Policy Framework

• Strategic Direction/Commitments
• Legislation/Regulations
• Forest policies strategies
• Forest licences
• Forest management plans
• Monitoring and Evaluation
• Public Reporting
• Founded on Sound Science and Info

Operations can begin
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Public Stakeholder Involvement

• Comprehensive Land Use Planning
• Ontario Forest Accord
• Environmental Assessment
• Environmental Bill of Rights
• Forest Management Planning
• Guides
• Plans
• Monitoring and Reporting
• Committee Representation
• Provincial, Regional, Local

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Forest Management Planning

• 10-year forest management plan with 5-year
  operating plans
• Activities undertaken in 46 Forest Management
  Units
• Prepared by industry / government / local
  citizens committee
• Mandatory public Aboriginal consultation over 2
  ½ years at a great cost - 1 million / plan

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Forest Management Planning

• Must ensure long-term forest ecosystem health
  for full range of uses and values
• public involvement
• emulation of natural disturbance
• science-based guidelines for silviculture,
  environmental protection, fish wildlife habitat
  management, cultural values, water quality
• Legal and licence requirement
• Plans directed by Forest Management Planning
  Manual and Guides
• Determines allowable harvest levels and describes
  harvest, renewal, access maintenance activities
• Describes non-timber values how they will be
  protected (e.g. species at risk, wildlife
  habitat, tourism)

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Monitoring and Reporting

• Monitoring
• Compliance inspection enforcement
• Forest health, wildlife populations guideline
  effectiveness
• Independent Forest Audit
• Mandatory third party forest certification

• Reporting
• Annual Report on Forest Management
• Five-year State of the Forest Report
• State of the Resource Report (e.g. caribou)
• Independent Forest Audit Reports
• Compliance and enforcement

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Forest Certification

• All sustainable forest licence (SFL) holders were
  required to be certified by the end of 2007
• In 2008, 80 of Ontarios Crown managed forest
  certified (24.7 million hectares)

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Forest Industry

• Primary Forest Products Sector
• Pulp
• Paper
• Lumber
• Composite Panels
• Veneer
• Logging Sector
• Secondary Forest Products Sector (two broad
  sectors)
• the Wood Industries
• Remanufactured Products, Engineered Building
  Components, Millwork, cabinets, furniture, other
• the Paper and Allied Product Industries
• Pulp and Paper industries, Paper Box and Bag
  Industry
• Emerging Bioproducts Sector, using forest
  biofibre for non-traditional forest products

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Economic Profile (2005)

• After the automotive sector, forest products are
  the single largest contributor to Ontario's
  balance of trade.
• In 2005, the value of Ontario's forestry sector
  was 18.3 billion
• 10.1 billion in pulp and paper products
• 6.1 billion in sawmill, engineered wood and
  other wood product manufacturing, and
• 2.2 billion in value-added furniture/kitchen
  cabinet manufacturing represented  
• Logging activity had an estimated value of 2
  billion.
• The value of forest products exports 96 bound
  for the U.S.
• 8.4 billion and a 2.9 billion contribution to
  the provincial trade balance.  
• Tax contributions are about 2.3 billion,
  including 800 million to the province and wages
  and salaries (2005) were approximately 3.4
  billion.
• Employment (Stats Canada 2005)
• 84,500 direct jobs in 2005 supporting more than
  200,000 direct and indirect jobs across 260
  Ontario communities. 
• Forty are categorized as highly dependent on
  employment in the forest sector to survive.  An
  additional 63 are identified as being moderately
  dependent. 

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Forest Tenure

• Determines who gets to harvest and use trees
  under what conditions.
• Minister allocates Crown timber to selected mills
• Minister does not allocate by-products such as
  chips, sawdust, hogfuel, etc.
• About 90 of timber supply comes from public
  lands in Ontario
• Tenure and Licences
• Sustainable Forest Licences (SFLs)
• Supply Agreements
• Forest Resource Licences (FRLs)

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Sustainable Forest Licence (SFLs)

• 20 year renewable licences
• Most held by large companies single entity
• 26 currently in Ontario
• Many are long-standing tenure holders (carrying
  forward from FMA days)
• Most are conifer-based sawmill pulp industry
• Many are multiple-mill companies
• Corporate players (e.g. Abitibi-Bowater,
  Buchanan, Domtar, Tembec, Weyerhaeuser)
• Some held by multiple companies Shareholder
  SFLs
• 15 currently with 4-5 in the process of
  converting
• Generally based on a shareholders arrangement and
  a business plan
• A maturing model some still in infancy some
  still emerging some well established
• MNR initiative further to promote the shareholder
  SFL model more cooperation between wood supply
  beneficiaries (Co-operative SFL Strategy)
• Model within the model partnerships,
  multi-party, small harvesting companies, variety
  of mills, boards
• Must prepare forest management plans, build roads
  and renew forest
• Must be audited every 5 years to extend licence

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Supply Agreements

• Agreement between the Province and a forest
  products company to Make Crown forest resources
  available to a mill from a supply area often
  encompassing several SFLs
• Does not convey the right to harvest forest
  resources from the supply area.
• Wood supply in a supply agreement is harvested by
  holders of SFLs or other forest resource
  licenses.
• must agree to share costs with SFL on roads,
  renewal, etc.
• SFLs contain conditions (Appendix E) to make
  available target volumes to the mill named in the
  Supply Agreement

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Forest Resource Licences (FRLs)

• Short term licences to harvest Crown Timber (up
  to 5 years), with no direct management
  responsibilities
• When issued on SFLs referred to as overlapping
  licences
• Requires an overlapping agreement with SFL holder
• Responsibilities for operations, information,
  renewal described in overlapping agreement
• must agree to share costs with SFL on roads,
  renewal, etc.
• SFL holders still responsible for operations
  conducted by overlapping FRL

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Wood Disposition Process
FMP Available Supply
Rationalization of Wood to Users
Supply Shortage
Additional Supply
SFL Holders Utilize
Impacts
Minister Directs
SFL Beneficiaries Utilize
Options
Another Process
Consultation
Competitive Process
Recommendations
Implement Wood Flow Decision
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Preparing for Tomorrow
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Drivers for Change Social, Economic
Environmental

• Climate Change
• Invasive Species
• Trade disputes
• Industry Transformation
• Green Energy
• New Forest Bio-economy
• Far North Development
• Aboriginal Socio-Economics
• Environmental Concern/Campaigns
• Rural and Northern Communities

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Objectives for Tomorrow

• Healthy forests adapting to and mitigating
  climate change
• Community economic social stability
• Enhanced aboriginal involvement and benefits
• Healthy investment climate
• Bio-economy investment captured
• Competitive Forest Industry

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Actions

• Strategy for New Forest Economy
• Invasive Species Centre
• Centre for Innovation Bio-economy
• Biofibre Directive
• Implement existing programs (1 Billion to 2010)
• Climate Change Strategy Action Plan
• Implement Endangered Species Act
• Strengthen Relations with Aboriginal Peoples
• Far North Strategy