Legislation and Regulation of Quebec Forests

Since the early 1980s, increasing public interest in the conservation of renewable resources has led governments to review their forest management methods and their underlying principles.

In 1980, the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) proposed a global conservation strategy with three main objectives

• maintaining essential ecological processes;
• preserving genetic diversity; and
• using ecosystems in a framework of sustainable development.

This was the foundation for a new form of natural resource management. A few
years later, the United Nations General Assembly formed the World Commission on Environment and Development, better known as the Brundtland Commission. The principal mandate of this Commission, composed of representatives from 21 countries, including Canada, was to identify the major environmental problems affecting the Earth and to propose realistic solutions to ensure both human progress and resource sustainability.

In its report published in 1987, the Brundtland Commission pointed out that renewable resources, such as forests, would not be depleted if the rate of cutting did not exceed their natural capacity for regeneration and growth. In short, the report proposed a sustainable development approach which would allow current needs to be met without jeopardizing the fate of future generations.

Forests are, without a doubt, ecosystems that are essential in maintaining life and species diversity on our planet. In addition, they are of untold economic value. This is especially evident in Quebec, given the vastness of our forest landmass with an area of 757 9000 km2 (about 2% of the world's forests) and the importance of numerous economic activities that depend on it. This easily explains why the government insists on managing forests in order to ensure not only their survival, but also their quality.

THE FOREST ACT

The Forest Act, which came into force in 1987, reflects the major modern ideological trends. It is based on the following two principles. 

1. the volumes of timber allocated to the forest industry must not exceed the allowable annual cut at sustained yield; in other words, the maximum volume of timber that can be harvested in perpetuity in a given area without reducing its production capacity; and
2. all forest resources must be protected when silviculture work is carried out.

 An amendment to the Forest Act in June 1996 included a declaration on sustainable forest management and added the six criteria of sustainable development adopted at the 1992 Earth Conference in Rio:

• the conservation of biological diversity;
• the maintenance and improvement of the state of productivity of forest ecosystems;
• the conservation of soils and water;
• the contribution of forest ecosystems to major ecological cycles;
• the many socio-economic benefits that the forest provides for society;
• the consideration, in development choices, of the values and needs expressed by the populations concerned.

Under the Forest Act, the holder of a timber supply and forest management agreement who is entitled to harvest a given volume of round timber to supply a wood processing plant is responsible for harvesting, managing and protecting forest resources. The volumes allocated are based on potential forest yield, requirements of the processing plant and the other available sources of supply. By taking this approach, the government ensures that the volume of ligneous matter available both as round timber and as secondary fibres (chips, sawdust, shavings or recycles wood fibre) are used rationally and efficiently.

In return, agreement holders have certain obligations: they must prepare management plans for the various time-frames as stipulated in the Regulation Respecting Forest Management Plans and Reports. These plans help in planning harvesting operations, silviculture work outlined in the contract aimed at ensuring sustained yield, and measures to be implement to protect all forest resources. These plans are available to the public for consultation.

Conditions to be respected during management activities are outlined in the Regulation respecting standards of forest management for forests in the public domain. The regulation, which was updated in 1996, enables Quebec to implement the main goals of the Forest Strategy, and at the same time to harmonize its environmental and economic concerns.

The provisions of this regulation are aimed mainly at restricting the area of single-block cutting, reducing the width of large cutting areas, creating corridors to act as visual screens and facilitate wildlife movements, and maintaining the temporal and spatial shelter stands that are conducive for many different wildlife species.

The regulation is complemented by a land-use map for public forests in which the forests are divided into five zones based on their socioeconomic potential and vocation. The map distinguishes the forest production zone, the forest production and recreation zone, the forest production and wildlife zone, the conservation zone and, finally, the zone encompassing ecological reserves, provincial parks, and lands covered by agreements with certain Native peoples.

Quebec’s forest system, backed by comprehensive, effective regulations, creates conditions that are specific to the sustained development of forest resources. Recycled fibres and fibres available after secondary processing are taken into account before round timber is allocated. In addition, care is taken to ensure that the use of forest resources does not compromise the production capacity of ecosystems.