It will soon be 25 years since the documentary The boreal errorby Richard Desjardins, shook Quebec by showing us the ravages of deforestation.
A recent dossier by our journalist Jean-Thomas Léveillé reminded us how much pressure is still strong for our forests to be considered essentially as the lumberyards of the forest industry.1.
He revealed that the Boreal Forest Alliance, an organization made up of elected municipal officials and mainly funded by Quebec, “maintains close ties with the wood industry and issues positions that contradict the scientific consensus”.
The positions of this organization responsible for defending forest communities are far from unanimous. Even within these communities.
It is because his speech echoes that of the forestry industry. It disregards the issues that affect the other functions of the forest and, consequently, its protection.
We ignore its importance for biodiversity in Quebec, for example (the case of the caribou that we refuse to protect is a blatant and heartbreaking illustration of this).
This new controversy demonstrates that it is high time for Quebec to set up a new – independent – watchdog regarding the fate of the forest, and especially the issues related to its management.
If we had really learned from our mistakes with regard to the exploitation of our forests, we would hasten to create a National Observatory of Public Forests.
The idea of creating a National Observatory of Public Forests was launched by the Forest Study Center – which brings together 75 researchers from 11 Quebec universities – two years ago.
She hasn’t aged a bit.
With such an observatory, we would benefit from an independent – and impartial – view of the management of our forests, which is currently lacking.
The main sponsor of this idea is Professor Pierre Drapeau, co-holder of the UQAT-UQAM Chair in Sustainable Forest Management. A possible observatory should, in his view, fulfill several essential functions:
- serve as a center for the analysis and dissemination of scientific knowledge on our forests and their management;
- produce public summaries on the state of the forest in relation to sustainable management strategies and practices in Quebec, as well as scientific opinions on the sustainable development of forest land;
- animate debates and dialogue on the fate of our public forest, among other things in the hope of reducing polarization.
It would be the equivalent of an auditor general for the forest.
Moreover, it would be crucial for Quebec to choose to place the task of producing the report on sustainable forest management in the hands of the observatory.
This exercise makes it possible to identify the objectives in terms of forest management and to assess whether or not they have been achieved. However, it is currently up to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forests to produce this report.
It means he is judge and judged.
It is time for this to stop.
The situation of our forests has improved since the publication of The boreal error in 1999.
It is indisputable.
In the process, there was a scientific and technical study commission on the management of public forests. Among other things, it led to the Sustainable Forest Development Act and the creation of a position of Chief Forester – who calculates the amount of timber that can be harvested from our public forests each year.
Note, however, that the chief forester has the status of deputy minister. Some consider, therefore, that he is in a situation of conflict of interest. And that sometimes her petticoat sticks out a little too much…
This is one of the – multiple – reasons why confidence is not at its best in Quebec regarding the fate of our public forests.
Moreover, when we question the best forest experts in Quebec, it is obvious that they remain unsatisfied.
Because the desired cultural change in Quebec has not yet occurred. That is to say that the idea that we could finally stop seeing the forest solely as a reserve of wood for industry has not yet taken hold.
Providing Quebec with a National Observatory for Public Forests would certainly be a very important step in this direction.