Conservation and Biodiversity
Operating in the natural resources sector, Resolute Forest Products has an impact on the natural landscape through its harvesting, site preparation and tree planting operations. We recognize that it is possible to harvest trees carefully while upholding the forest values we all respect, including conservation and biodiversity. Our employees and contractors adhere to the principles of sustainable forest management, which promotes and protects the conservation of forest plants and animals.
Protecting, Managing and Renewing the Forest
All of the initiatives and actions we undertake build upon our core commitment to protect, manage and renew the forest through sustainable forest management. To ensure forests continue to provide timber sustainably, harvest volumes are set according to strict limits and standards. In Canada, provincial governments determine sustainable harvest levels based on the best available scientific data.
Biodiversity is also typically monitored by provincial government agencies, and Canadian forest products companies operate in one of the most stringent regulatory environments in the world, with active enforcement by the federal, provincial and local authorities.
Resolute has adopted regionally-based strategies to collaborate on the provinces’ respective approaches to sustaining biodiversity, including:
- actively protecting biodiversity and species at risk by identifying and maintaining a proportion of over-mature stands in the forests we manage
- participating in research and recovery plans, and fostering forest health, including regeneration after harvest
- protecting watersheds, water resources, and the fish and wildlife that depend on them
- partnering in government and private sector research to improve forest management
Biodiversity Conservation and Monitoring
Promoting and protecting forest biodiversity is an important aspect of all internationally recognized forest management certification standards and a key component of the 25-year forest management plans that forestry companies must develop in association with governments and the public. These plans ensure that specific objectives and monitoring processes are in place for all woodlands operations. Foresters use a variety of monitoring methods, including on-the-ground and aerial surveillance — the latter from aircraft with high-precision digital imagery, drones and satellite-based laser technologies.
External forest management audits for the Sustainable Forestry Initiative® (SFI®) and the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) are conducted at each of our woodlands operations on an annual basis. The reports, which are available on the certification standards’ websites, contain detailed information on the biodiversity value of the areas we manage, the robustness of our forest practices and corrective action requests.
In addition to forest management plans and audits, Resolute safeguards biodiversity through its collaborations with multiple stakeholders, including identification of protected areas, implementation of selected management practices (such as partial or progressive cuts, retention of trees for nesting, buffering around eagle nests and leaving riparian green belts), and natural and planted forest regeneration. Regeneration after harvesting is a key element of sustainable forest management, and in Canada, 100% of all harvested areas must be regenerated.
In coordination with the provincial governments, Resolute also seeks to identify critical habitat areas for species of interest, such as the woodland caribou. Our goal is to ensure that our forest management plans protect such areas and minimize disturbance to the populations in question. For more information about how Resolute manages biodiversity conservation, visit our Protected Areas page.
Our Boreal Forest webpage has additional information on Canada’s strong environmental record and robust regulatory controls, and our Research Partnerships page details the support we are providing for education and research in forestry and other areas.