Environment Overview

Canada’s forests are an important environmental resource, contributing to water quality, air quality, soil stability, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity. They also are affected by – and themselves affect – climate change.

The province of Ontario contains more than 70 million hectares of forested land. Ninety percent of this area is owned by the provincial government: it is referred to as ‘Crown forest’. About 26 million hectares of this Crown forest is managed for a broad range of uses and benefits.

Ensuring the long-term health of forest ecosystems is the primary objective of forest management on Crown land in Ontario. Through the Ministry of Natural Resource’s forest management planning process, forest managers ensure that the forests of Ontario will remain healthy in the future to provide sustainable benefits such as timber and commercial products, wildlife habitat, and recreation opportunities for the people of Ontario, as well as global environmental benefits.

Ontario was the first province in Canada to subject its forest management planning process to a comprehensive, in-depth Environmental Assessment. Board hearings covered concerns raised by aboriginal peoples, forest interest groups and the public. Its decision in 1994 approved the planning process, but added new conditions for impacts on non-timber resources, managing for water, wildlife, aesthetic and cultural values, and involvement of local communities. This placed Ontario forest managers at the leading edge of sustainable forest management. An updated environmental approval in 2003 has continued this evolution.

Management of Crown forests in Ontario is the responsibility of the provincial government, but this responsibility is shared with forest products companies and communities. There is a significant role for the citizens of Ontario, including local communities, first nations and environmental groups, to participate in the planning process. Their involvement helps to balance the social, economic and environmental objectives of the management of the Crown forest.

Monitoring/reporting programs keep tabs on compliance with the forest management plans, effectiveness of silviculture renewal, and forest health.

Independent forest audits also provide a third-party assessment of compliance with legal requirements, comparison of planned versus actual forest management activities, identification of how well activities are achieving audit criteria and management objectives and, where applicable, assessment of the licensee’s compliance with the terms and conditions of a sustainable forest licence.