If there is one certainty in these uncertain times, it is that business as usual is now out the window.
Jurisdictions around the world are struggling to find new recipes for financial stability and sustainability. The election of Barack Obama is now being widely seen as a major turning point. President Obama has put a major emphasis on green initiatives as a way of rebooting the U.S. economy, creating good, long-term jobs and reducing the country’s climate impact.
Here in Ontario, the government’s decision to take a new approach to land-use planning in the northern boreal region also represents a dramatic shift toward a greener vision. No longer will intact forests simply be seen as a pie to be divided up among various industries for quick exploitation. The keywords now are “precautionary approach” and “added value.”
Business as usual forestry is going to have to change to protect the ecology of the still intact northern boreal forest. |
Start with forestry. The Ontario forest industry has been deeply impacted by falling demand for products like pulp, newsprint and lumber and by low-cost but highly efficient offshore competitors. To get back on its feet, the industry is going to have to carve out a unique niche on an increasingly crowded playing field. That niche, most observers now believe, is in ecologically certified green products.
With demand for Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper soaring and many building supply chains (and even governments) establishing preferential buying policies for FSC-certified wood products, positioning yourself as a high-quality green supplier has never had a larger potential upside. Ontario is a leading jurisdiction for FSC certification and that puts the province in a good position to rebuild its forestry industry on a sustainable – and profitable -- foundation.
This is also an approach that fits well with First Nation’s concepts of multi-generational land stewardship that emphasize maintaining the long-term health of the whole forest ecosystem. The FSC system, in turn, requires First Nation involvement in forest planning for traditional territories.
And the ecosystem-first approach fits well with the particular ecology of the Northern Boreal Region – a fragile landscape that is as much water as land, with slow-growing forests and many sensitive habitats.
Observers also believe that Ontario will need to put a greater focus on getting more value from the trees it does cut. Whether it is housing components, new bio-pharmaceuticals, or structural beams based on uniquely strong northern woods, these sorts of products will produce more jobs, and more spin-off benefits than the high volume, low margin products that Ontario previously relied on.
Getting there, however, will take careful planning. For example, wood allocations will need to be tied to commitments to follow FSC practices and to undertake value-added processing. New management models like community-directed forestry will need to be explored. There is also a great opportunity to develop healthy local markets: producing housing specifically designed for northern communities, for example.
Caribou cannot survive in intensively logged areas in the long term. |
Similarly well-planned approaches will be needed to be taken for other economic activities, such as energy and mining. The Northern Boreal is rich in renewable power resources like wind and hydro, but development will need to address concerns such as habitat disruption and opening up previously inaccessible (and therefore ecologically intact) areas with roads and transmission lines. For mining projects, a big concern will be impact on water quality, which will require state-of-the-art waste treatment and full site reclamation if mine development is to occur (see "Where does mining fit? for more).
Again, there are significant local opportunities, particularly for energy. Many northern communities are dependent on diesel power for electricity, one of the dirtiest generating sources available. A shift to local wind or hydro projects could reduce costs compared to imported diesel while improving local air quality and reducing carbon emissions. Such an opportunity also meshes well with efforts to improve community housing and other infrastructure; improving living standards and reducing energy demands.
Even the vast protected areas network planned for the northern boreal will have a strong economic upside. As well as supporting existing, high-value remote tourism businesses, there is excellent potential to expand ecotourism in one of the world’s last great intact forests. Meanwhile, as globally important carbon sinks, these lands could also be valuable assets in the effort to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels.
Of course, these areas are already economically important as a source of healthy “country” foods and a spiritual touchstone for Aboriginal people and others. These values not only help offset the high cost of living in remote communities, they underpin the cultural health of communities by supporting the mental and physical health of residents.
In short, careful planning will be required to make the most of the region’s natural advantages while protecting its immense – and irreplaceable – natural capital.
