Endorsed National Forest Certification Systems

PEFC-endorsed national forest certification system seeking to obtain international endorsement by PEFC have been independently assessed and found to be in compliance with PEFC’s Sustainability Benchmark. All documentation related to the assessment, including the evaluation report, input received during the global  public consultation, and comments by the Panel of Expert are publicly available.

PEFC Canada

Canada is the second largest nation in the world with an area 979 million hectares (ha), of which 400 million or about 40% is forested.  Less than half of the total forest area is subject to forest management. 

Canadian forests types include

• 66% softwood
• 12% hardwood
• 22% mixed-wood forests

In 2009, Canada harvested 118 million m³ from 600,000 hectates of forest. In 2010 Canada produced 59 million m³ of lumber and strcutral panels, and 27 million tonnes of pulp and paper.  Of these totals, 33 million m³ of lumber and structural panels, and 12 million tonnes of pulp and paper were consumed domestically, with the remainder sent to export markets around the world.  The value of forest products exported in 2010 was C$30 billion, while the value of imports was C$9 billion.

• 93% of Canada’s forests are publically owned, with 16% held by the federal government, and 77% held by the provincial governments. 

As a result of this public ownership, forestry is highly regulated and Canada has been shown to have some of the most stringent laws governing forest management in the world. 

Besides being regulated, Canadian forest managers have made a huge commitment to third-party certification, with 114 million hectares certified to PEFC-endorsed standards, representing 48% of the PEFC global total.

There are 27.6 million hectares of national parks in Canada, with another 27 million ha set aside in provincial parks.  In addition to these formally protected areas, millions more hectares of Canadian forests receive special management to protect values such as wildlife habitat and cultural heritage.

Certification and Chain of Custody

• 59.6 million herctares in Canada are certified to the PEFC-endorsed CSA SFM standard.
• There are 183 PEFC Chain of Custody certifications in Canada.