Our Plan: Forest Stewardship Council Certification – The Gold Standard For Our Forests

Forest Stewardship Council certification of forestry operations on publicly-owned Crown lands is fundamental. It provides an independent, third party, transparent evaluation of a forest operation according to a set of principles developed and endorsed by loggers, foresters, and environmental groups around the world.

In 1993, the FSC was created to promote environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world’s forests. FSC certification has a long and very well-developed list of criteria that can be used to assess whether or not a forest operation can be considered economically, ecologically and socially sustainable.

FSC certification guarantees environmentally responsible forest practices. It is increasingly demanded by markets around the world, and more and more companies are signing on across Canada. In fact, Alberta has the largest area of FSC-certified land in the world!

The Nova Scotian government should move now to require FSC certification of all forestry operations on our public lands. They’re our lands. They deserve the best.