“Sustainable forest management provides for the long-term health of Ontario’s forests while providing social, economic and environmental benefits to Ontarians.” “Sustainable forest management helps Ontario’s forests
- remain healthy and productive
- support a strong forest industry and provide people with jobs and forest products (lumber, paper, fuel, medicines, chemicals and more)
- conserve biodiversity, enhance or protect wildlife habitat, watersheds, and other values, and reduce the build-up of greenhouse gases (a major cause of climate change)
- support Ontario communities, provide recreation opportunities (hiking, hunting, fishing and more), and provide a healthy living environment” Government of Ontario website (August 19, 2016)
Westwind manages the French-Severn forest sustainably. Independent Forest Audits and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification audits both assess the sustainability of French-Severn and have strigent requirements in order to be compliant. To learn more about oversight, please visit our Oversight Page.
To learn more about the individual pillars of sustainability please click on the links below.
Environmental Sustainability
Social Sustainability
Economic Sustainability
Crown Forest Sustainability Act (CFSA):
“The Crown Forest Sustainability Act describes forest sustainability and regulates the protection and sustainable use of Ontario’s forested lands. To achieve sustainable forest management, there is:
- a comprehensive system of legislation, regulations, policies, standards and guides
- a forest management planning system
- a compliance program and independent forest audits to monitor progress
- public reporting on the status of all aspects of forest management
Ontario’s sustainable forest management practices are based on the most up-to-date science and continuously improved.” – Government of Ontario website (August 19, 2016)
To view the Crown Forest Sustainability Act, please click here.