ASSESSING FOREST SUSTAINABILITY

The United States and Canada together have about 15.5 percent of the world’s total forest cover and, although the two countries differ in terms of forest ownership and laws, governments and the forest industry on both sides of the border share a demonstrated commitment to sustainability—which is why North America has roughly the same amount of forested land now as it did 100 years ago.*

Over the past 50 years, less than 2 percent of the standing tree inventory in the United States was harvested each year, while net tree growth was 3 percent. In Canada, where most forests are publicly owned, less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the managed forest is harvested annually, and the law requires all areas to be promptly regenerated. Illegal logging, which continues to have a tremendous negative impact in many tropical countries, is not an issue in North America because of its multi-faceted governance structure for sustainable forest management, which includes well-developed public policies, legislation and regulations, enforcement, regular monitoring, and public reporting.

Unlike concrete and steel, wood is also the only building material that has third-party certification programs in place to further demonstrate that products being sold have come from a sustainably managed resource. Sustainable forest certification allows forest companies to demonstrate the effectiveness of their practices by having them independently assessed against a standard that goes beyond regulatory requirements and takes into consideration environmental, economic and social values.

It’s also an integral part of most green building rating systems. The Green Globes® system, for example, gives points for lumber and timber panel products certified through the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), American Tree Farm System (ATFS), and Canadian Standards Association’s Sustainable Forest Management Standard (CSA). The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) system recognizes timber certified through FSC.

For those interested in buying certified wood, your local lumber dealer should be able to help. The following websites also offer search features that help to locate certified products:

• Sustainable Forestry Initiative
• Forest Certification Resource Center, a program of Metafore
• Certification Canada
• BC Forest Information

In terms of helping to ensure that North American forests remain sustainably managed, the purchase of certified wood is a good start. However, the use of wood in general—certified or not—is equally important. Because most US forests are privately owned, the ability of landowners to sell their timber and regenerate the forest in an ongoing and sustainable cycle provides incentive to keep those lands forested—as opposed to selling or developing the land for other purposes.

For more information, including a study comparing different certification systems, please visit the forest certification page of the WoodWorks website.

*State of America’s Forests, American Society of Foresters, 2007