21 member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada and nine environmental associations have unveiled the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The contract, according to a release from Canopy applies to 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC members.

The agreement, when fully implemented, will conserve significant areas of Canada’s Boreal Forest, protect threatened woodland caribou and provide a competitive edge for participating companies.

Under the agreement FPAC members, who manage two-thirds of all forest land in Canada, commit to the highest environmental standards of forest management for an area about twice the size of Germany, according to the release.

The Agreement identifies explicit commitments for both sides and sets out a plan, which includes:

• The development and implementation of world leading forest management and harvesting practices
• The completion of joint proposals for networks of protected areas and the recovery of species at risk including woodland caribou
• A full life cycle approach to forest carbon management
• Support for the economic future of forest communities and for the recognition of conservation achievements in the global marketplace

Signatory environmental organizations and FPAC have begun meetings with provincial governments, First Nations and local communities across the country to seek their leadership and full participation in advancing the goals of the agreement. Participants recognize that governments, including First Nation governments, are decision makers within their jurisdictions.

The agreement recognizes that aboriginal peoples have constitutionally protected aboriginal and treaty rights that must be respected and engaged in order for the Agreement to fulfill its objectives. The progress made to reach the objectives laid out in the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement will be regularly measured and reported on by a jointly agreed upon independent auditor.

Forestry Companies Participating in the Agreement:
AbitibiBowater, Alberta Pacific Forest Industries, AV Group, Canfor, Cariboo Pulp & Paper Company, Cascades Inc., DMI, F.F. Soucy, Inc., Howe Sound Pulp and Paper, Kruger Inc., LP Canada, Mercer International, Mill & Timber Products Ltd, NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd, Papier Masson LtÈe, SFK Pulp, Tembec Inc., Tolko Industries, West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd, Weyerhauser Company Limited – all represented by the Forest Products Association of Canada.