(Toronto) A letter signed by a hundred scientists urges the Canadian government to take concrete measures to put an end to the degradation, through large-scale industrial logging, of previously intact forests.
The letter, signed by several prominent Canadian and American climate and forest scientists, also calls on the government to help, rather than hinder, global policies aimed at curbing industrial expansion in old-growth and primary forests — which have never been industrially disrupted.
The letter comes as Canada prepares to draft its own definition of forest “degradation”, after the European Union passed a law earlier this year aimed at limiting the availability of products that contribute to deforestation and degradation.
Environmental groups have denounced Canada’s pressure for the EU to remove any reference to the term “forest degradation” from its bill.
While Canada has often boasted about its low “rate of deforestation” — when forest land is converted to another use — the letter draws attention to the “degradation” associated with logging of old-growth forests. and primary, hitherto spared from large-scale industrial activity.
In the letter, written by the chief scientist of the California-based conservation group Wild Heritage, the specialists admit that the term “forest degradation” has not yet been the subject of a “single definition that be internationally accepted.
But according to the signatories, this term is widely understood to refer to “deleterious impacts on forest ecosystems which do not constitute changes in land use, but which negatively affect them”, notably native species, the quality of ecosystem and carbon reserves.
“We now urge Canada to recognize and address forest degradation on its own territory, using a definition based on ecological rather than economic indicators, and to support rather than hinder policy development global efforts to halt forest degradation,” says the letter, written by Dominick DellaSala.
Canada is a signatory to the “Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use,” which commits parties to end and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030.
The scientists’ letter says Canada’s definition of forest “degradation” should use “ecological indicators,” such as loss of carbon sinks and decline in biodiversity, rather than purely economic indicators.
“Properly interpreted, degradation would necessarily include industrial impacts in primary and old-growth forests, as well as the conversion of naturally regenerating forests into plantations or planted forests,” estimate the Canadian and American specialists.
Natural Resources Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Irreplaceable” losses
The federal government has called Canada a world leader in sustainable forest development, with the vast majority of the country’s forest lands being publicly owned and managed. Areas logged in these forests must be replanted or left to regenerate.
But what has been considered sustainable forest management in the past could, in many cases, be considered degradation given its effects on carbon pools and biodiversity, said Suzanne Simard, professor of forest ecology. at the University of British Columbia, who signed the letter.
“We are doing exactly what we said we should not do, that other countries should not do,” Ms.me Simard, author of the book “In Search of the Mother Tree”.
Mme Simard is one of several scientists who have suggested that replanted forests store less carbon than those that have not been disturbed by industry, in part because some of that carbon accumulates for centuries under the ground or on the forest floor.
“When we put these machines on the ground and we cut down these trees, we actually lose a lot of the carbon pools in the forest floor,” she said. We should avoid these losses at all costs because they are truly irreplaceable, especially in the period when we need to act (against climate change). »
“Ill-advised” letter
In a statement, the Forest Products Association of Canada, an industry group, called the letter “misguided.” She said Canada is “among the best in the world” when it comes to sustainable forest management.
“The Canadian forest sector and its workers support the importance of global commitments to advance climate action, halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation, and promote sustainable sourcing,” it reads in the declaration.
“These efforts are part of a broader international dialogue, and Canada must work in collaboration with its international partners,” added the association.