Canada's Forestry

Softwood Lumber BC

INES GARCIA GUTIERREZ CGC1DE-02, Mr.Bell

Industry Description:

Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, playing, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. More specifically Softwood Lumber refers to lumber that has been cut from a coniferous or an evergreen tree, such as pine, cedar or spruce. The other class of wood is hardwood, which comes from angiosperms, such as walnut, hickory or maple. Canadian softwood lumber consists of spruce, pine and fir. Softwoods are frequently used primarily for framing in construction and other building materials. It is a key component of Canada's forest industry and supports predominantly rural and Indigenous communities while generating $22 billion in GDP. Canada is also the world’s leading exporter and the second-largest producer of softwood lumber, with British Columbia representing 63% of exports. Canada is the second-largest exporter of wood pulp, since being overtaken by Brazil in 2016. 

Resource Location:

Softwood Grade Mills Lumber Capacity (MMBF)

Canada's forests cover 347 million hectares of land and make up nearly nine per cent of the world's total forest area. Canada is the third-most forested country in the world by area. Nearly 30 million hectares (or about 9%) of Canada's forests are in legally established protected areas. In British Columbia, forests cover over 55 million hectares, which is 57.9% of British Columbia's 95 million hectares of land. The forests are mainly composed (over 80%) of coniferous trees, such as pines, spruces and firs, this is why British Columbia Canada's leading exporter of softwood lumber, structural wood panels, and wood pulp. Pulp produced in the eastern provinces is mostly used directly in the domestic manufacturing of paper products, while wood pulp produced by western provinces is mostly destined for export. Hardwood lumber and plywood are manufactured in Ontario and Québec, and oriented strand boards are made across Canada near the necessary supplies of aspen and poplar.

Economic Sustainability:

  • “Taxes, stumpage and other fees from the industry overall provide about $2.5 billion in revenues to all three levels of government”
  • “Forestry creates approximately 145,000 direct and indirect jobs in BC.”
  • “One in 16 jobs in BC is dependent on forestry, and one in four manufacturing jobs are in the forest sector.”
  • “There are 140 forest-dependent communities in BC.”
  • “About $1.4 billion of this amount goes to provincial revenues which are used to fund essential services like education, health care and transportation.”
  • “Since 2006, the BC forest sector has worked hard to successfully diversify its export markets, working in partnership with Natural Resources Canada, and the province of British Columbia.”
  • “In fact, forestry accounts for 15% of B.C.’s economic activity, and roughly 40% of the jobs the industry supports are in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, according to a 2019 economic analysis commissioned by the Council of Forest Industries”

[https://bclumbertrade.com/facts , https://biv.com/article/2021/02/pillar-bcs-economy-made-wood ]

Sustainability:

While de-and reforestation is controversial and is under debate among environmental experts, timber is generally a more sustainable building material because it is a renewable resource (provided that responsible forest practices are used).Forests purify air and water; provide food, shelter, renewable energy, timber and jobs; as well as recreational and cultural benefits. Given that forests cover 30% of the Earth's land area, improving sustainable forest management (SFM) can have significant positive impacts on the SDGs. For example timber is not only a renewable and recyclable resource, but it is energy-efficient to produce. Importantly, timber acts as a carbon store, giving it an important role to play in reducing carbon emissions. To ensure sustainability, wood products from certified forests should be specified which, admittedly, is often a difficult task that not many follow through with. According to MetaFore, (a non-profit organization specializing in working with businesses to implement innovations relating to evaluating, selecting and manufacturing environmentally preferable wood and paper products) whose goal: “We catalyze business action to conserve, protect and restore the world’s forests. We envision a world where business enhances forests and communities” . There are several certification systems relevant to the North American marketplace:  The American Tree Farm System  (ATFS) covers small, private, non-industrial landowners, typically family forest landowners. ATFS certifies contiguous parcels from 10 to 20,000 acres and was endorsed by PEFC in August of 2008.

These certification programs all promote criteria and objectives that are viewed as the basics to sustainable forest management. Most certified forestry operations are located in Canada and the US. The best way to improve forest management globally is to focus on the global forests that are not certified at all. There is a great importance for sustainably-managed forests to meet the needs of wildlife while supporting livelihoods and providing many other ecosystem services, such as carbon storage and flood risk mitigation.

Issues facing this industry:

Canada’s forest sector is a vital part of the Canadian economy, and is crucial to the well being of many communities that rely on it. One of the issues concerning forest management are depletion due to natural causes (fires and infestations) or human activity (clear-cutting, burning, land conversion), and monitoring of health and growth for effective commercial exploitation and conservation. Not every company is following good criteria and making sure that they're replenishing all that they are destroying, this can cause serious damage. Current problems arising in the BC area right now include market declines, mills shut, low timber prices, less demand in the Asian markets, government fees, timber supply shortages, and a strike involving 3,000 forestry workers . This is due to the budget numbers recently revealed that showed the forest’s revenue was down by 11% and the projected harvest volumes of 46 million cubic metres were the lowest in years. Lumber and plywood prices are so high nowadays because of the short-run dynamics of demand and supply. Wood demand shot up in the summer of pandemic. The amount of merchantable logs in the province is declining due to a slew of natural disasters, and trade   disputes with the United States over tariffs on softwood lumber have increased the cost of exporting lumber. These factors have resulted in a steady decline in the industry. Approximately 32,000   jobs have been lost in the province’s lumber sector between 2003 and 2016. In recent years, B.C. has been the site of multiple record - breaking wildfire seasons and beetle   infestations, reducing the number of trees that can be logged. This has left companies to devise alternative solutions to try to continue making profit. However, these solutions consist of the termination of employment for thousands of people, primarily in areas where forestry is the main source of household income. This can become extremely problematic for many people suffering with low wages and now unemployment.

Activism intensifying over B.C.'s logging industry despite government-promised overhaul.

My opinion:

I personally believe there are so many already naturally existing contributing factors destroying our ecosystem and environments. Climate change is already affecting wildlife, flora and fauna immensely, and I don't think logging and forest degradation is necessarily sustainable or considerate to all these issues.  In the last 8000 years about 45% of the Earth's original forest cover has disappeared, most of which was cleared during the past century. That is immensely disappointing because most substantial industries cutting down trees are not taking the time to regenerate them. Deforestation and degradation of forests is a huge issue that affects us more than people care to learn. The loss of trees can cause climate change to increase, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and a host of problems for indigenous people. I see more bad outweighing the good. Although wood is a biodegradable material commonly used in construction, people are oftentimes not taking the responsibility to take care of our forests. Overall i dont think it's worth the risk to ruin our environment for some wooden planks. More fast growing sustainable replacements for wood exist such as hemp, bamboo, soy, cork, cardboard, and wood composites (scrap wood fiber leftover from cutting solid hardwood ).

Sources:

Softwood Grade Mills Lumber Capacity (MMBF)

Activism intensifying over B.C.'s logging industry despite government-promised overhaul.