Implementing EBM in Newfoundland

The forest industry has operated on the island of Newfoundland for centuries. Rural communities have depended on forestry, whether for firewood and building materials, direct employment, making furniture or operating a modern sawmill. The development of larger communities, like Grand Falls-Windsor and Corner Brook, was also driven by the forest industry.

This section is adapted from: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. 2014. Growing our Renewable and Sustainable Forest Economy. St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada.

Currently, Newfoundland’s economy is dominated by non-renewable resources such as oil and mineral extraction. Forestry provides an opportunity to grow a sustainable resource based industry. With continued good management and an innovative industry, its forests can help sustain rural Newfoundland and Labrador for generations.

Forest management planning is a complex and long-term endeavor. Forest management activities, because of the broad footprint on the landscape, will interact with a wide range of social, environmental and economic values, ranging from archaeological sites to endangered species to mineral exploration. These interactions, when combined with a renewable forest resource can make for a very challenging development and planning environment. In recent decades significant conflicts have arisen around forest management and land use planning. The forest industry has also gone through a period of structural change.

Modernization of forestry in Newfoundland is ongoing. A clear, concise, and integrated forest management strategy is the most appropriate tool available to provide stability to the renewable resource sector while reducing the probability of landuse conflicts. This strategy has three components, related to EBM: 1) Define the nature and extent of our forest resources. 2) Identify known values that may conflict with forest management and put forward strategies to mitigate the risks of conflict. 3) Provide an update of the current resource development status and identify areas of potential growth and innovation. This is an integrated approach to environmentally and socially responsible economic development of forest resources. A 10-year planning scope will provide the appropriate timeframe to research, design and implement the new policies outlined in this strategy.

Ultimately the success of this strategy can be measured by three strategic criteria. 1) A measurable improvement in the extent and quality of our forest resources, including ecological services as well as available fibre for consumptive use. 2) A significant reduction in landuse and values conflicts around forest management. 3) A significant increase in the diversity of forest value chains in the province, and an increase in the total value of forest products produced. 

The Evolution of Forest Management in Newfoundland and Labrador

Early formal work on forest management in the province included the 1955 Newfoundland Royal Commission on Forestry, the 1973 Forest Land Tenure and Taxation of Newfoundland Report and the 1981 Royal Commission on Forest Protection and Management. The first strategic forest management plan for the province was developed in 1984 and was a forerunner of the science-based wood supply modeling that was still in use in 2014. In the latter years of the 1980s, the province (and most of eastern Canada) experienced a large and sustained outbreak of Spruce Budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) causing massive tree mortality. In 1989, as a response to budworm, the government struck the Poole Royal Commission, which recommended the implementation of many of the modern forest management principles and processes governing current practice, including silviculture, forest protection, and management planning.

In 1990 the principle of sustainable development was incorporated into the Forestry Act. To complement these changes, the Newfoundland Forestry Services Board (FSB) produced its first 20-Year Plan (1990-2009), with a focus on AACs and addressing wood supply shortfalls. Forest protection measures have been expanded, harvesting restrictions have been imposed, and intensive silviculture programs have been implemented. Although at the time the province was faced with a serious wood supply shortfall, the government of Newfoundland implemented sufficient regulatory and management measures to ensure the AAC was never exceeded.

In 1996 a revised 20-year strategy was produced (as a five-year update to the 1990 Plan). This strategy was the first to include references to “other values” such as old forests and biodiversity, and introduced the concept of public participation in forest management planning. This marked a significant advance in the history of forest management in Newfoundland. The citizens planning team approach to district level forest management was introduced in the 1990s.

In 2003 Newfoundland released the 2003–2013 Provincial Sustainable Forest Management Strategy. This recognized EBM as fundamental elements of the planning process and is aligned with key elements of the Canadian Council of Forest Minister’s approach to forest management – the National Forest Strategy. As well, the new ten-year strategy reiterated a commitment to public consultation and a commitment to incorporate and manage for “other values that were identified in the consultation process”. The principal policy statements included in this strategy, especially those relating to ecosystem-based management and public consultation, were widely supported. However, FSB was criticized by several stakeholder groups and the Auditor General (2010 report) for failing to implement all of the actions outlined in the strategy in a timely fashion.

In 2000, Newfoundland’s 100-year old newsprint industry virtually collapsed; two out of three newsprint mills closed, while the third mill reduced production. As well, the sawmill industry contracted significantly, placing forest planning under intense scrutiny. The fiscal and human resources of FSB were fully engaged in managing the socio-economic impacts of industry contraction.

While the international newsprint demand is still in structural decline, a very significant multi-billion dollar global trade in newsprint still exists. The remaining newsprint mill in Newfoundland (Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited) is positioning itself to be a top competitor in this market. The sawmill sector is also recovering with the end of the 2008 global recession and improvements in U.S. housing markets. Emerging developments in value-added production, promising research and development in winter logging biorefining, a robust and culturally significant domestic fuel wood harvesting sector, and a wood supply surplus all bode well for the viability of the forest sector in Newfoundland.

Coincident with a rebounding forest product sector is a growing demand for careful management of the environmental risks of forest management. It has become clear that the public will not accept forest management planning that does not include explicit consideration of ecological and social values. This change is reflected in consumer choice and market demands. To maintain a social license to operate on public lands and ensure competitiveness no jurisdiction can afford to ignore these trends.

The 2014–2024 Provincial Sustainable Forest Management Strategy builds on previous plans and uses landscape-scale planning to implement the progressive and innovative ecological policies required for Sustainable Forest Management (SFM). The strategy builds on the strengths of the many modern and high-quality forest management programs that are being implemented in Newfoundland.

A Vision for Forest Management 

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador seeks to maintain and enhance the province’s forest in a manner that sustains the balance of ecological, economic, and social values desired by society (EBM). Forests provide habitat for viable populations of native species, maintain clean water, and productive soils. Healthy forests contribute positively to climate and atmospheric regulation through carbon storage and sequestration. The forest industry helps sustain communities and is a key contributor to rural, regional, and provincial economies. Forests provide support for many social-economic and cultural benefits to our citizens, including recreation and tourism, domestic firewood cutting, and many other outdoor pursuits that our citizens regard as part of their cultural heritage.

Forests are also deeply important to Indigenous communities and FSB will continue to build on the success of our internationally recognized partnerships with the Labrador NunatuKavut Community Council, Inc., the Nunatsiavut Government and the Innu Nation, and continue to explore meaningful ways to engage these stakeholders in forest management planning in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The province’s forest mandate, vision, and key forest management goals cannot be delivered independently – it will require the development of strategic and meaningful partnerships inside and outside of government.Non-government partners may include the forest research community, the environmental community, Indigenous communities and the forest industry. Public consultations will also inform these partnerships. These partnerships will be developed around adaptive management and research in support of forest management planning.