A Sustainable and Renewable Resource

Alberta’s Forests and Lands

Dan Wilkinson

Executive Director, Forest Industry

Development Branch

October 2011

Dan.Wilkinson@gov.ab.ca

Why the Province of Alberta in Korea?

• Alberta desires greater trade on wood products with Korea.

•

• Alberta's forest industry excessive dependence on the United States is not healthy.

• Korea can help Alberta forest industry with superior supply chain arrangements and new markets in Korea.

Alberta is a Busy Place

Alberta’s People

Alberta’s Regions

Grasslands

Parkland

Boreal Forest

Canadian Shield

Foothills

Rocky Mountains

Alberta – Where are we? Who are we?

• Alberta is one of ten provinces in Canada

642,317 sq km in land area which is about 6 times the size of South Korea

Population of 3.7 million (2010) a

sixteenth of south Korea

Provincial Gross Domestic Product of $247.2 billion CAN (2009) only 1 seventh of South Korea GDP

Highly skilled and educated workforce like Korea

Modern infrastructure – utilities, transportation,

‘SuperNet’ – high speed network connecting 429 Alberta communities

Alberta’s Fish and Wildlife

• The province has 587 species that are wildlife, including 10 species

of amphibians, 93 mammals, 411 birds, 8 reptiles and 65 fish.

• Alberta wildlife management includes the conservation of plants and invertebrates.

• 3500 species of plants and fungi, and ten thousands invertebrates.

•

• Protecting and maintaining suitable habitat results in long-term wildlife health and viability.

• The provincial government committed to conserving wild species. Alberta has been involved in programs to identify and restore species at risk for more than 30 years。

Key Wildlife Species

Bison

Elk Canada Geese Bison

Wolf Moose

Loon

Pronghorn

Sheep

Caribou

Grizzly

Black

Bear

Squirrel

Deer

Alberta – Land Management

• Divided into two zones in 1948

• Green Area – public land for timber production, watershed protection, fish & wildlife habitat, oil & gas development

391,813 sq km

White Area – largely private land, used for settlement and agricultural development

250,504 sq km

Land-Use Framework

• Government facilitated and approved -

public and industry participation

• Balance resource development with conservation

• Protect endangered species

• Conserve and protect soil, water, air and biodiversity

• Regional plans approved by provincial government

• Harmonized with National Government policies and laws

• Monitor to ensure outcomes achieved

Lands Ownership in Alberta

艾伯塔省土地所有权

28.4

6.2

1.8

49.7

2.7

11.2

Privately Owned Land

Public Lands

Metis Settlements & Indian

Reserves

Non-Settled Public Lands

Vacant Public Land

Protected Land (inc.

Federally controlled lands)

Percent of Land

Parks and Protected Areas

• Special Places 2000 completed in 2001

• 81 new and 13 expanded protected areas

• 12.5 per cent of the provincial land base now devoted to parks and protected areas

• Another 4 per cent will be added through regional plans

Total percent of land protected by

province and territory, 2010

Alberta 艾伯塔省

Alberta’s Forest Resource

• Albertans own the forests.

• Green Area managed for multiple-use

– oil and gas, forestry, recreation, wildlife, social

and culture uses

Timber Resources – plentiful & well managed

Softwood AAC (2010) – 17.2

million m3 Significant species

– spruce, pine, fir, larch

Hardwood AAC (2010) – 10.3

million m3 Significant species

– aspen poplar, balsam

poplar, birch

Alberta’s Forests

2/3 of

Albertans

live in this

circle

Edmonton

Calgary

• The Green (forested) Area covers 35,189,909

hectares – slightly smaller than the area of Yunnan

Province.

• 22 million hectares – is managed by industry under

Forest Management Agreements.

• 4 million hectares of Crown Forest Management

Units with timber dispositions .

• 9 million hectares of Crown Forest Management

Units without timber dispositions.

Forest Industry Tenure

• Government leases forest to industry for

20 year periods.

• Leases are renewable if industry performance meets regulations and standards

• 21 Forest Management Area Agreements; 170 volume agreements

• Companies maintain manufacturing facilities to use wood from tenures

• Companies responsible for planning, reforestation, and reclamation

• Government provides forest and insect protection

Managing for the Future

• In Alberta, it takes between 80 and

120 years to grow trees.

• Forest products companies operate under a planning horizon that spans 200 years or more.

• All plans approved by Alberta Government before timber is harvested.

Sustainable Management

We manage forest land on a sustainable basis.

• Reforestation has been legislated for over 30

years

• 90 million conifer seedlings are planted

each year in Alberta by forest companies.

• We regrow at least 2 trees for every

one harvested.

。

Key Benefits of Reforesting Harvested Areas

• Maintains a sustainable supply of fibre for forest product companies

• Maintains and enhances other values the public of Alberta enjoy from our forested lands – clean water, habitat for wildlife and recreational areas.

Forest Protection

• Spend $40 Million CAN or 300

Million Yuan annually on insect and disease control

• Spend $250 million on fire suppression

• Modern forest management aims to mimic or emulate the same natural pattern of disturbance

• Significant research is on-going to fine tune these methods and learn more from the woods

Natural Disturbance 自然干扰 Managed Forests 管理有序的森林

Emulating Natural Disturbance

Questions ?