Focus On Planet Earth - AFRICA FORESTS.

SOUTH AMERICA ECOSYSTEMS FORESTS

Forests are a dominant feature of the North American landscape, covering almost half of Canada (Natural Resources Canada, 1996) and a third of the United States (Brooks, 1993). They provide a great diversity of economic, ecological, recreational, cultural, and spiritual benefits. These two countries are the world s two leading exporters of forest products (Brooks, 1993). In Canada alone, more than 880,000 people rely on the forest industry for their livelihood (Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 1996b). Important steps-including both public and private action-have been taken to put the region on an effective course for achieving sustainable forestry management (PCSD, 1996; Natural Resources Canada, 1996).

Pressures for commercial logging are expected to intensify in the U.S. in the years to come. In Canada, commercial logging is not expected to increase, and annual harvests are currently running at almost a quarter below the annual allowable cut (Canadian Dept. of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, 1996b). While deforestation and loss of forested area are not among the priority concerns, the depletion of old-growth forests and of the last remaining rainforests in British Columbia, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest in the United States are serious concerns of the public and often trigger discussions and legal measures for their conservation. Recently there has been a movement to stop logging of old-growth forests on public lands in order to promote biodiversity conservation.

Although most forests in the United States are managed for multiple use, private forests are often managed with a stronger emphasis on fibre production than is found in public forestlands. Private forests also produce higher wood yields at a lower cost per unit than public timberlands. Because of these factors, private forest areas figure significantly in market-based approaches to promoting natural resources stewardship (PCSD, 1996). There are nearly 8 million private landowners engaged in non-industrial forestry in the United States. Together they planted 41 per cent of the trees planted in 1993 and care for 59 per cent of U.S. timberland (Comanor, 1994).

In Canada, although more than 425,000 landowners are engaged in private forestry, only 6 per cent of the nation s forests are growing on private property. Provincial governments are responsible for managing 71 per cent of Canadian forests; the remaining 23 per cent are managed by Federal and Territorial governments (Natural Resources Canada, 1996).

United Nations Environment Programme