Remarks before the House of Commons Committee on Natural Resources

Patrick Moore, PhD

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you to speak on clearcutting in forestry, a subject that is both controversial and highly complex in nature.

I am particularly appreciative of this opportunity to speak as a life-long environmentalist, a founding member of Greenpeace who served for 15 years as an international director and campaign leader, and as a member of a family that has worked in the forest industry for over 90 years. I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Forest Biology and a Doctoral degree in Resource Ecology. I was a founding member of the B.C. Round Table on the Environment and Economy on which I served for four years. As Chair of the Forest Practices Committee of the Forest Alliance of B.C. I am working to develop higher standards for environmental performance in the industry.

The Forest Alliance is a B.C. forest industry-sponsored initiative to respond proactively and progressively to the environmental challenges faced by the industry today. The Alliance is a non-profit, non-government organization, registered as a Society in B.C. It has a board of directors of some 30 citizens from all walks of life and all parts of the province. The mission of the Alliance is to assist industry in developing and implementing sustainable forest practices and to inform the public of all aspects of forests and forestry.

The directors of the Forest Alliance believe there is no other sensible course than to find the appropriate balance between the environmental and economic values that are derived from forests. It is absolutely essential that representative areas of forest ecosystems be preserved as parks and wilderness areas. The Forest Alliance supports the B.C. government program to double the area of land in parks and wilderness to 12% of the land base. It is also essential that forestry and forest harvesting be continued as they are the economic backbone of our province and indeed of much of Canada. We therefore support the maintenance of large areas of managed forest lands, where forestry must be practiced on a sustainable basis.

Many Canadians would be surprised to learn that Canada accounts for fully 25% of all international trade in forest products, amounting to $25 billion annually. This means Canada has by far the largest stake of any country in demonstrating to the world community that we are practicing forestry in an environmentally acceptable manner. The Forest Alliance believes the best way to achieve this goal is through the negotiation of international agreements and conventions on the definition of sustainable forest practices. These negotiations must include governments, industry, and environmental groups. We call on the government of Canada to give more support to their representatives who are presently working towards this goal through the UNCED (United Nations Commission on Environment and Development) process with too little official recognition.

One of the more confusing aspects of the debate over forestry involves the distinction between forests that are protected as parks versus forested areas that are managed for timber production.