Collaborative Action Plan - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and the Forest Stewardship Council - Canada

February 2006

Preamble

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR) and FSC Canada are both committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of forests. It is understood that both organizations can play a complementary role in sustaining forests. Given this shared objective it is recognized that there will be a degree of overlap in the requirements of FSC standards, and OMNR legislative and policy requirements.

Ontario companies have been very successful in attaining FSC certification. In fact, Ontario has the largest area certified to FSC of any province in Canada. In response to the considerable initiative that Ontario companies have undertaken and the recognition that there is a degree of overlap in the two requirements it is appropriate that OMNR and FSC Canada should endeavour to support these companies in continuing to be certified and to make the process as effective and efficient as possible.

Goal

OMNR and FSC Canada will collaboratively and separately explore ways to improve access to FSC certification on public lands in Ontario by:

• identifying and, where appropriate, reducing redundancies in audit requirements;
• identifying potential province-wide common approaches to meeting certain FSC requirements; and
• reviewing existing FSC certifications in Ontario to learn about any barriers to certification and possible opportunities for FSC Canada and/or OMNR help overcome those barriers.

Guiding Principles

All activities under this action plan will be guided by the following principles:

1. All requirements of both systems must be satisfied.
2. The credibility of both audits must be maintained.
3. All public announcements regarding the initiatives described in this action plan must be jointly approved by the participants.
4. There should be equitable sharing of efficiencies and costs, as appropriate.
5. The initial focus will be on specific actions that can produce tangible results in the short to medium term.

Actions

1.0 Identify and reduce redundancies in audit requirements

1.1 Review various options to reduce redundancies in audits. Without carrying out a detailed analysis, this initial review will simply provide an overview of the likely strengths and weaknesses of each option, as well as its applicability to OMNR/FSC audit overlap. Potential measures to reduce redundancies in audits include:

• data sharing agreements
• sequential audits
• Simultaneous audits
• a single fully combined audit
• guidance to auditors on the extent to which audit requirements are deemed to be met by a previous audit

These options are not mutually exclusive, and not necessarily comprehensive.

1.2 The mandatory review of the independent forest audit program, tentatively scheduled for 2006, will include a request for input on potential options to reduce audit redundancies. During the development of the independent forest audit review terms of reference, input from Forestry Futures Committee (FFC) will be requested.

1.3 Identify one or a few options that offer the greatest potential for audit efficiencies over the short to medium term.

1.4 Carry out a “fine-filter” analysis of the preferred option or options. The nature of this analysis will depend on the option(s) chosen. This analysis will involve qualified experts, as appropriate, and will be made available for review by interested parties before it is finalized.

1.5 If the fine-filter analysis confirms that there is significant potential for efficiencies, then FSC and OMNR in cooperation with FFC will explore ways to formally validate this approach.

2.0 Identify potential common approaches to meeting FSC requirements

2.1 Review areas where there may be the potential for OMNR and/or FSC to undertake initiatives that could contribute to meeting certain certification requirements, thereby reducing the effort and expense for individual forest operations to be certified. Without carrying out a detailed analysis, this initial review will simply provide an overview of the potential opportunity for initiatives that would apply across management unit boundaries. Potential areas (in no particular order) include:

• Landscape scale planning
• Assessment of the pre-industrial forest condition (PIC)
• Species at Risk recovery/rehabilitation plans
• High Conservation Value Forest assessments
• Protected areas and gap analyses processes
• Natural disturbance patterns
• Access planning
• Herbicide use
• Spatial modelling
• Aboriginal communities and values
• Social and economic aspects
• Monitoring and assessment, including inventories
• Training and education
• Meeting “controlled wood” requirements

These initiatives are examples, and not necessarily comprehensive.

2.2 Identify one or a few initiatives where province-wide approaches are feasible, practical and offer the greatest potential for certification efficiencies over the short to medium term.

2.3 Carry out a “fine-filter” analysis. The nature of this analysis will depend on the initiative(s) chosen. This analysis will involve qualified experts, as appropriate, and will be made available for review by interested parties before it is finalized.

2.4 If the fine-filter analysis confirms that there is significant potential for efficiencies, then FSC and OMNR will explore ways to take advantage of this potential.

3.0 Review existing FSC certifications with a view to identifying and addressing any provincial barriers to certification

3.1 Review the public summaries of all FSC-certified management plans in Ontario, focussing on the conditions attached to the certificate. Send a questionnaire to forest managers and one to certifiers, seeking their input on where FSC certification has proven to be most problematic in Ontario. Explore areas where there appear to be common barriers to certification.

3.2 If OMNR and FSC Canada agree that there are areas where actions could be taken jointly or individually by FSC Canada and/or OMNR in the short to medium term to reduce barriers and/or improve access to certification, then those areas will be identified and made available for review by interested parties.

3.3 Based on the response from interested parties, as well as organizational priorities and available resources, FSC and OMNR will explore ways to take advantage of any potential identified in 3.2 above.

The Forest Stewardship Council Canada
400-70 The Esplanade, Toronto, ON M5E 1R2

Telephone: 416-778-5568
French: 416-778-0044
www.fsccanada.org