Centralized National Risk Assessment for CANADA FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 EN FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 1 of 118 – Title: Centralized National Risk Assessment for Canada Document reference FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 EN code: Approval body: FSC International Center: Policy and Standards Unit Date of approval: 17 December 2015 Contact for comments: FSC International Center - Policy and Standards Unit - Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5 53113 Bonn, Germany +49-(0)228-36766-0 +49-(0)228-36766-30 [email protected] © 2015 Forest Stewardship Council, A.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the publisher’s copyright may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, recording taping, or information retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. Printed copies of this document are for reference only. Please refer to the electronic copy on the FSC website (ic.fsc.org) to ensure you are referring to the latest version. The Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC) is an independent, not for profit, non- government organization established to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC’s vision is that the world’s forests meet the social, ecological, and economic rights and needs of the present generation without compromising those of future generations. FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 2 of 118 – Contents Risk assessments that have been finalized for Canada ............................................. 4 Risk designations in finalized risk assessments for Canada ...................................... 5 Risk assessments ..................................................................................................... 6 Controlled wood category 1: Illegally harvested wood ........................................... 6 Overview ........................................................................................................... 6 Sources of legal timber in Canada ..................................................................... 7 Risk assessment ............................................................................................... 8 Recommended control measures .................................................................... 44 Controlled wood category 2: Wood harvested in violation of traditional and human rights ................................................................................................................... 45 Risk assessment ............................................................................................. 45 Recommended control measures .................................................................... 45 Detailed analysis ............................................................................................. 46 Controlled wood category 5: Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted ........................................................................................................ 116 Risk assessment ........................................................................................... 116 Recommended control measures ................................................................ 1188 FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 3 of 118 – Risk assessments that have been finalized for Canada Risk assessment Controlled Wood categories completed? 1 Illegally harvested wood YES Wood harvested in violation of traditional and human 2 YES rights Wood from forests where high conservation values are 3 NO threatened by management activities Wood from forests being converted to plantations or 4 NO non-forest use Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees 5 YES are planted FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 4 of 118 – Risk designations in finalized risk assessments for Canada Indicator Risk designation (including functional scale when relevant) Controlled wood category 1: Illegally harvested wood 1.1 Low risk 1.2 Low risk 1.3 Low risk 1.4 Low risk 1.5 Low risk 1.6 Low risk 1.7 Low risk 1.8 Low risk 1.9 Low risk 1.10 Low risk 1.11 Low risk 1.12 Low risk 1.13 Low risk 1.14 N/A 1.15 Low risk 1.16 Low risk 1.17 Low risk 1.18 Low risk 1.19 Low risk 1.20 Low risk 1.21 Low risk Controlled wood category 2: Wood harvested in violation of traditional and human rights 2.1 Low risk 2.2 Low risk 2.3 Specified risk for territories claimed by First Nations, Metis or Inuit. Low risk for the rest of Canada. Controlled wood category 3: Wood from forests where high conservation values are threatened by management activities 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Controlled wood category 4: Wood from forests being converted to plantations or non-forest use 4.1 Controlled wood category 5: Wood from forests in which genetically modified trees are planted 5.1 Low risk FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 5 of 118 – Risk assessments Controlled wood category 1: Illegally harvested wood Overview NOTE: The Canada CNRA was done at a national level with examples from the provinces included for illustrative purposes. Nearly 90 per cent of Canada’s forests are on public lands, owned and managed on behalf of Canadians by the provincial and territorial governments. Almost two per cent of forest land is under federal jurisdiction and two per cent is owned and managed by Aboriginal peoples. The remaining six per cent of forest land is on private property. The federal government has legislative authority over forest resources where those resources affect, or are affected by, matters related to: the national economy, trade and international relations; federal lands and parks; and the government’s constitutional, treaty, political and legal responsibilities for Aboriginal peoples. The country’s ten provinces and three territories (the territory of Nunavut has little to no forested lands) who own close to 90 per cent of Canada’s forest land, have legislative authority over the conservation and management of forest resources on these public lands. This authority affords the provincial and territorial governments the ability to regulate and enforce how Canada’s forests are managed. Detailed files on all applicable legislation for each province, as well as forest classifications, permit types and how timber monitoring is done is available at http://www.sfmcanada.org/en/forest-products/legal-forest-products. Canada is internationally recognized as a leader in forest governance. A very recent (Sept 2014) guideline prepared and endorsed by the Australian and Canadian Governments recognizes Canada’s legislative framework provides assurances that timber products from Canadian forests are of low risk of being illegally harvested. It specifies the probability of illegal logging throughout Canada is negligible. This guideline is intended to assist businesses importing regulated timber products from Canada into Australia in complying with the Australian Illegal Logging Prohibition Act 2012 (see http://www.daff.gov.au/forestry/policies/illegal-logging/information-resources) A study entitled, “Global Environmental Forest Policies: Canada as a Constant Case Comparison of Select Forest Practice Regulations” by Dr. Cashore of Yale University in 2004 compared forest policy and regulations across 38 jurisdictions around the world and “… the regime of forest management and conservation in Canada, is, in the aggregate, one of the most advanced in the world.” (see a summary at fpac.ca/publications/2004_HowCanadaCompares.pdf) A study entitled, “Comparison of Selected Forest Certification Standards” by the Finnish research company Indufor Oy in 2009 compared forest legislation and forest certification schemes in 11 jurisdictions around the world and found “Canada (British Columbia and Ontario) and in Australia (New South Wales) are the FSC-CNRA-CAN V1-0 CENTRALIZED NATIONAL RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CANADA 2015 – 6 of 118 – countries with the most demanding legislation on the studied elements.” Further, the study found that “…the strength of the legislation contributes to the strictness of the standard more than does the type of the standard (FSC or PEFC).” Canada has a robust system of procedures to ensure that its forests are governed in the public interest. Several reports and studies have confirmed that Canada’s forest management policies and practices are among the most stringent in the world: • Currently, the Spanish Timber Importers´ Association (AEIM) assesses Canada as a very low risk for illegal logging (see maderalegal.info/fichas) • In 2014, the World Resources Institute referred to Canada’s record of the lowest prevalence of suspicious log supply and corruption of any country (see wri.org/sites/default/files/wri_report_4c_report_legalityguide_final320.pdf) • In 2013, Forest Trends reported Canada as a low risk supply country for timber imports into the EU (see forest-trends.org/documents/files/doc_4085.pdf) • In 2012, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute reported that Canada has the lowest occurrence of suspicious log supply and corruption of any country (see sustainableforestproducts.org/Legality) • In 2010, the UK Timber Trade Federation classified Canadian wood products as low risk with respect to illegality, and rated our documentation as highly reliable (see Country Guidance: Canada, UK Timber Trade