NEWS RELEASE

Ref: 830-796/004

Canadian Council of Forest Ministers
Lac Delage, Quebec - September 19, 2003

CANADA'S FOREST MINISTERS RELEASE NEW TOOL
FOR SUSTAINABLE FOREST MANAGEMENT

LAC-DELAGE, QUEBEC, September 19, 2003 — The essential components defining sustainable management of Canada’s forests were released today. The Honourable Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of Natural Resources Canada and his provincial and territorial colleagues, unveiled Defining Sustainable Forest Management in Canada: Criteria and Indicators 2003 at the annual meeting of the Canadian Council of Forest Ministers (CCFM) in Lac-Delage, Quebec. The meeting was chaired this year by Minister Dhaliwal.

Criteria and indicators (C&I) are recognized by more than 145 countries as an important tool to monitor, assess and report the state of forest resources. Canada recognized early on a need for a framework to define and measure its progress in sustainable forest management and is now considered an international leader in C&I.

“Canada is steward of ten percent of the world’s forests, and Canadians have a responsibility to maintain healthy, sustainable forests,” said Minister Dhaliwal. “These criteria and indicators demonstrate Canada’s commitment to sustainable forest management and will help maintain Canada’s international leadership role in this area.”

“Criteria and indicators are a working tool used by many provinces and territories,” said the Honourable Archie Lang, incoming Chair of the CCFM and Yukon Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources. “The revised CCFM framework will continue to provide an important foundation for frameworks at the provincial, territorial and local levels.”

This tool is a revision of the existing criteria and indicators originally developed and released by the CCFM in 1995. The 2003 framework is composed of the original six criteria, defining values Canadians want to enhance and sustain. These include biological diversity, ecosystem condition and productivity, soil and water, global ecological cycles, economic and social benefits, and society’s responsibility. The values contained in these criteria are addressed by 46 indicators that identify scientific factors for assessing the state of the forests and measuring progress over time.

In 2001, the CCFM launched a review of the framework to reflect new scientific information and improved technology in measuring indicators, as well as the considerable experience gained in reporting. A federal-provincial-territorial task force consulted a broad spectrum of participants across Canada, including Aboriginal people, environmentalists, academia and industry.

Criteria and Indicators 2003 fulfills Canada’s commitments to the Montréal Process, an organization of 12 nations with 875 million hectares of boreal and temperate forest.

This framework also advances Canada’s commitment to the sustainable development of our natural resources — contributing to their economic importance and to a strong society and communities through knowledge, innovation, technology and international leadership. By integrating economic, social and environmental goals, the quality of life for Canadians can be ensured now and for the future.

Copies of the CCFM C&I Framework will be available at the World Forestry Congress in Québec, being held from September 21 to 28, and on the Internet at www.ccfm.org.

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For more information, media may contact:

Alexandra Muir Director of Communications Office of the Minister Natural Resources Canada Ottawa (613) 947-8246

Ghyslain Charron Media Relations Natural Resources Canada Ottawa (613) 992-4447

NRCan’s news releases and backgrounders are available at nrcan.gc.ca/media.

Canadian Intergovernmental Conference Secretariat (CICS)

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