Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement

Transcription

1 Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement A Collaborative Model for Precedent Setting Conservation and Sustainable Forestry Outcomes Sustainability of Paper and Print Charlotte, NC June 20, 2013

2 Sustainable Forestry The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) three-years on, successes, challenges and lessons learned. He will report on the circumstances that led to the Agreement, progress towards achieving the Agreement goals and discuss lessons learned from the process to date.

3 Outline Summary What is the CBFA? Our six goals How the CBFA came to be Progress to date Challenges and opportunities Lessons learned Conclusion

4 A brief over-view of the Agreement and it s institutional structure: What is the CBFA?

5 What is the CBFA? cont d The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) is a historic agreement between seven environmental organizations and the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC), and its 20 member companies, that seeks to protect significant areas of Canada s vast Boreal Forest, protect threatened woodland caribou, and sustain a healthy forestry industry for the communities who rely on it.

6 What is the CBFA? cont d It is committed to providing advice and recommendations on these issues to governments in Canada (provincial, Aboriginal, federal and municipal).

7 Area of Implementation

8 CBFA to scale

9 Truce, Trust and Transparency A truce amongst historic adversaries 19 major forest companies plus their association, 5 leading conservation groups and 2 conservation funders Founded upon reciprocal trust-building measures - an agreement from the Canadian forest industry to pause logging in critical forests and from the market-based campaigning environmental groups to end negative campaigns in the marketplace

10 Truce, Trust and Transparency cont d Creating space for collaboration A transparent, audited, facilitated and interested-based negotiation of common positions and collective action on six key goals

11 Mutual Commitments Forest companies committed to implement, "the highest environmental standards of forest management and; Conservation groups committed to ensure "global recognition and support for forest company efforts"

12 The Twin Pillars The overarching commitment - CBFA parties will always seek to achieve both high degrees of social and economic prosperity and high degrees of ecological integrity A shared belief that conserving forests and protecting jobs can go hand in hand

13 Core Elements Six Key Goals World-leading forest practices standards (Goal 1) Network of protected areas (Goal 2) Recovery of species at risk (Goal 3) Climate change (Goal 4) Forest sector and community prosperity (Goal 5) Recognition by the marketplace (Goal 6)

14 Structure of the Agreement An agreement-to-agree, including: Signed and public text Third-party Secretariat program management providing coordination and facilitation Commitment to independent science Implementation with governments, communities, First Nations and stakeholders Independent auditing of progress Regular reporting to markets and public

15 Government Engagement CBFA parties acknowledge that governments, including Aboriginal governments, are the ultimate decision-makers; governments, including First Nation governments, are decision makers in their jurisdictions Successful implementation... will require the support of and/or actions by governments and the support of a broad array of interests...

16 Planning Area (73 Mha)

17 Six Goals Our six focal areas for collaboration

18 Goal 1 World-Leading Forest Practices The CBFA parties are committed to identifying and implementing world-leading practices based on ecosystembased management Building on the three major North American certification programs with Forest Stewardship Council's stand and landscape-level planning and practices as an acknowledged reference point

19 Goal 2 Protected Areas The CBFA parties are committed to completion of a network of protected areas representing the diversity of the boreal and serving as ecological benchmarks The parties acknowledge that there is a need for a meaningful increase to the current level of protection throughout Canada s boreal

20 Goal 3 Endangered Species The CBFA parties are committed to the recovery of priority Boreal species at risk, including Canada's remaining population of wild, forest-resident Woodland Caribou The parties acknowledge the need for greater protection of critical habitats through new protected areas while minimizing effects on employment and mills

21 Goal 4 Climate Change The CBFA parties are seeking ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions along the full life-cycle from the forest to the end of the forest product life Amongst other things, the parties will identify and implement best practices for biomass harvesting for new uses such as woody bioenergy

22 Goal 5 Prosperity The CBFA parties are committed to improving the prosperity of the Canadian forest sector and the communities that depend on it; for example, by developing and advocating for: Policies and investments that improve competitiveness A climate of investment certainty Capital investment in forest sector technologies and equipment

23 Goal 6 Marketplace Recognition The CBFA parties are committed to ensuring recognition by the marketplace of the CBFA and its implementation in ways that demonstrably benefit the participating companies and their products; for example, by phasing-in efforts to: Strengthen existing customer relationships Develop new markets, and Gain recognition for ecological leadership

24 Phased Implementation Implementing on the ground aspects through regional working groups in collaboration with public and Aboriginal governments and stakeholders

25 Phase 1 Conservation Planning Locations

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27 How The Agreement Came to Be History of the negotiations and overview of the enabling conditions

28 History of the Negotiations Numerous and varied conditions contributed to the decision of the parties to negotiate Spring 2008 Canvassing for a broad dialogue founded on elements of common-ground on woodland caribou June 16, 2008 (Wakefield, Quebec) Formal decision to begin negotiations of CBFA. Negotiation featured: Senior, independent jointly-engaged facilitator Process management team to manage logistics and prepare proposals jointly-engaged Trust-building concessions May 14, 2010 Agreement signed after 2-years of often challenging negotiations May 18, 2010 Beginning of implementation

29 Enabling Conditions The unprecedented coincidence, circa 2008, of: Large-scale precedents for collaboration Industry leadership, particularly on energy savings Coordinated, sustained conservation focus Progressive policy developments, and Influence of the marketplace Additionally there were two critical catalysts: Leadership and vision of key individuals, and Decision of the CBFA parties to frame shared opportunities and challenges

30 Progress To Date Slow but steady progress with limited resources

31 Key Progress Joint Secretariat established Science Committee assembled top-flight scientists and technicians Decision-making structures in place and staffed with 120 expert volunteers from across the country 29 million hectares of caribou habitat off limits to harvesting to allow space for our planning efforts Jointly-produced, scientifically-based guidance for caribou action planning and protected areas planning at the national level

32 Key Progress continued A win-win solution was reached in Northeastern Ontario to protect caribou while increasing wood supply to support mills and communities Boreal Business Forum A collection of globally influential retailers/consumers of Canada forest products in place Independent Assessor hired KPMG LLP, an international accounting firm Beginning to secure Aboriginal government and Provincial government support

33 Third Anniversary - May 18, 2013 Environmental groups announced that they were suspending further work with Resolute Forest Products due to failure of negotiations in Northwest Ontario and Northcentral Quebec and Industry has signaled they will encourage their partners to return to the table with Resolute after a suitable period of reflection CBFA is evergreen and, with the consent of the signatories, work continues until it s fully implemented Groundbreaking solutions are emerging in Northeast Alberta and have been achieved in Northeast Ontario Optimistically advancing plans in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Newfoundland

34 Challenges and Opportunities Meeting our challenges and attempting to seize our opportunities

35 Challenges Aboriginal criticism of our inadequate initial outreach Loss of signatories Governmental skepticism Resource limitations Program management (6 goals, 8 provinces, 32 organizations, 144 people, etc)

36 Opportunities Achieving a new prosperity for a significant Canadian sector Confirming Canada as a global leader in Boreal conservation Broadening our collaboration

37 Lessons Learned

38 Preliminary Lessons Learned General organizational issues Ensure adequate resourcing Ensure regularly scheduled meetings Ensure adequate recording of decisions Exploit on-line workspace Signatories and relationship building Invest in relationship-building and trustbuilding Promote alignment within caucuses Encourage alignment within organizations

39 Preliminary Lessons Learned continued Sub-Committee Organization/Establishment Employ smaller planning teams but ensure regular reporting Ensure continuing agreement on scope and clearly articulated objectives Ensure effective management of third-party contractors Data and Technical Aspects Take a rigorous and systematic approach to planning Ensure goals and objectives drive process

40 Preliminary Lessons Learned continued Assemble data early Ensure significant GIS processing capacity is available Scenario analysis of great and often unanticipated value Establish a clear and common understanding of business as usual early Outreach Develop an outreach strategy early Initiate engagement early in the planning process

41 Conclusion CBFA is a global precedent for sustainable forestry CBFA is a collaborative model for a new way of doing business Difficult and slow but we are making progress Building company as well as First Nations and other governmental support

42 Thank you Aran O Carroll Executive Director Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement Secretariat