Public Forests, Private Governance: the Role of Provincial Governments in Fsc Forest Certification
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PUBLIC FORESTS, PRIVATE GOVERNANCE: THE ROLE OF PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS IN FSC FOREST CERTIFICATION by PETER J. WOOD A thesis submitted in conformity with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE DEPARTMENT OF THE FACULTY OF FORESTRY UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO © Copyright 2009, Peter J. Wood ii Public Forests, Private Governance: The Role of Provincial Governments in FSC Forest Certification Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Peter J. Wood Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto Abstract This dissertation examines changes that companies made in order to obtain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, and the role that provincial governments have played in the implementation of this emerging market-based form of governance. It analyzes the indirect roles that governments have played in either encouraging or inhibiting the adoption of certification through their policies, as well as the direct roles played in response to particular certification attempts that occurred on public land. Through the use of case studies of individual operations in each province, the interaction between state and non- state authority is explored, as well as the role that forest tenure played in each operation’s ability to obtain certification. The results reveal that the changes required to obtain certification were substantial but associated with only a small subset of the FSC’s Principles and Criteria, heavily weighted towards environmental issues. While corrective action requests are issued to the company pursuing certification, the results show that non-exclusive tenure limits a company’s ability to respond to these requests without the cooperation of the provincial government and resource users with overlapping tenure rights. However, limited duration of forest tenure does not preclude certification, and for the most part, provincial governments are found to play important facilitative roles in certification, both through their policies and regulations, and as providers of information and technical support. iii Further, the majority of the corrective actions were not required to be implemented prior to certification being awarded, but within the five year term of the certificate. This appears to have acted as a flexibility mechanism, allowing the certification system to secure the participation of companies in the short term, with the hope of leveraging greater change in the long term from the company, the government in question, and other resource users with overlapping tenure rights. iv Acknowledgements There are a number of people I would like to thank for helping make this dissertation possible. These include Johanna den Hertog, for introducing me to the subject and showing me how government attempts to respond to often conflicting pressures; and to Jessica Clogg and the West Coast Environmental Law Association for teaching me how to pressure government. I am very grateful to my supervisors Dr. David Balsillie, Dr. Susanna Laaksonen-Craig and Dr. Shashi Kant, for their helpful suggestions and patience throughout the process, and to the many others who I have drawn upon for academic guidance. I would like to thank all my friends and relatives in Toronto for making my time there all the more worthwhile, and those in Vancouver, who always made me feel welcome when I returned. I am also grateful for my time working with the International Institute of Sustainable Development’s Earth Negotiations Bulletin team, and the friends I have met throughout the world as a result. Most of all I would like to thank my mother, father and two wonderful sisters for their love and support, and for tolerating the occasional rant regarding the state of the planet. v Acronyms Used AAC Annual Allowable Cut AAND Alberta Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development AAQ Alliance Autochtone du Québec AEP Alberta Environmental Protection AF&PA American Forest & Paper Association AFPA Alberta Forest Products Association AFS Alberta Forest Service AOP Annual Operating Plan ASRD Alberta Sustainable Resource Development AVI Alberta Vegetation Inventory AWA Alberta Wilderness Association BC British Columbia BCC Boreal Coordinating Committee BCMOF Ministry of Forests BCMSRM BC Ministry of Sustainable Resource Management BCMWLAP BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection BCSRMP Sustainable Resource Management Planning BEC Biogeoclimatic Ecosystem Classification BEO Biodiversity Emphasis Option BMP Best Management Practice C & I Criteria and Indicators for Sustainable Forest Management CAAF Contrat d'Approvisionnement et d'Aménagement Forestier CARs Corrective Action Requests CCFM Canadian Council of Forest Ministers CEPI - European Confederation of Paper and Pulp Industries CFSCC Canadian Sustainable Forestry Certification Coalition CIFOR - Center for International Forestry Research CIFQ Conseil de l’Industrie Forestière du Québec CITES Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CoC Chain of Custody COSEWIC Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada CPAWS Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society CSA Canadian Standards Association CWD Coarse woody debris DFA Defined Forest Area DFMP Detailed Forest Management Plan EA Environmental assessment EKES East Kootenay Environmental Society EMS Environmental Management System ENGO Environmental non-government organization ESA Environmentally Sensitive Area FAPAQ Faune et Parcs Québec FDP Forest Development Plan vi FEN Forest Ecosystem Network FERN Forests and the European Union Resource Network FHP Final Harvest Prescription FLEG(T) Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (and Trade) FM Forest Management FMA Forest Management Agreement FMP Forest Management Plan FMU Forest management Unit FN First Nations FPC Forest Practices Code of BC FSC Forest Stewardship Council FSMP Forest Stewardship Management Plan GFTN Global Forest and Trade Network GMO Genetically modified organism HCVF High Conservation Value Forest ILM Integrated landscape management ILO International Labour Organization ISO International Organization for Standardization ITTO International Tropical Timber Organisation IWMS Identified Wildlife Management Strategy KBLUP Kootenay Boundary Land Use Plan KKTC Ktunaxa Kinbasket Tribal Council LCC Local Citizens Committee (ON) MCPFE Ministerial Conferences for the Protection of Forests in Europe MENV Ministère de l’Environnement du Québec MNA Métis Nation of Alberta MOU Memorandum of understanding MRNF Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune MSL Mineral surface lease NBS National boreal standard (FSC Canada) NDT Natural Disturbance Type NGO Non-government organization NIF normes d’intervention forestière OFIA Ontario Forest Industries Association OGMA Old Growth Management Area OGR Operating Ground Rules (Alberta) OLL Ontario’s Living Legacy OMNR Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources ONAS Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat OSB Oriented strand board P&C Principles and Criteria (FSC) PAG Public Advisory Group PA Protected Area PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes (formerly known as the Pan European Forest Certification Council) PEOLG Pan European Operational Level Guidelines vii PGAF Plan général d’aménagement forestier PHP Preliminary Harvest Plan PIC Pre-industrial condition PPMs Process or Production Methods PSP Permanent sample plot QH Quota Holders REDD Reducing Emissions through avoided Deforestation and forest Degradation RNI règlement sur les normes d’intervention RONV Range of Natural Variability RPF Registered Professional Forester SAA Secretariat aux Affaires Autochtones (QB) SAGD Steam assisted gravity drainage SARA Species at Risk Act SCC Standards Council of Canada SFB Sustainable Forestry Board (SFI) SFI Sustainable Forestry Initiative SFL Sustainable Forest License SFM Sustainable Forest Management SFMM Strategic Forest Management Model SFMP Sustainable Forest Management Plan SHS Spatial Harvest Sequence SLIMF Small and Low Intensity Forest Management SNTC Shuswap Nation Tribal Council SOP Standard Operating Procedure TAG Technical Advisory Group TBT Technical Barriers to Trade TCEA Timber Class Environmental Assessment (ON) TEK Traditional ecological knowledge TEM Terrestrial Ecosystem Mapping TFL Tree Farm License (BC) THLB Timber Harvesting Land Base TIPSY Table Interpolation Program for Stand Yields TSA Timber Supply Area TSFMA Timber Supply and Forest Management Agreement (QB) TSR Timber Supply Review TUS Traditional Use Studies VQO Visual Quality Objective WTO World Trade Organisation WWF World Wide Fund for Nature ZEC zone d’exploitation controlée viii List of Tables Table 2.1: Key events in the development of the FSC ..................................................... 17 Table 2.2: Timeline of FSC standards development in Canada........................................ 26 Table 3.1: Variables associated with strength of forest tenures in Canada ...................... 56 Table 3.2: Major tenure systems in four Canadian provinces .......................................... 58 Table 4.1: Themes and elements used in the assessment of CARs .................................. 78 Table 5.1: Possible options for government involvement in certification identified by the Brown and Greer Report........................................................................................... 85 Table 5.2: Government roles in provincial case studies ................................................. 109 Table 6.1: Results of interviews with