Opportunities and challenges for Ontario's forest bioeconomy

Ontario's forest sector is undergoing a significant shift owing to declining markets for traditional products; this shift is further exacerbated by a cyclical industry downturn. These factors are leading to extensive job losses in Ontario's north as well as rural community upheaval. Govern...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Forestry chronicle 2011-07, Vol.87 (4), p.468-478
Main Authors:	Puddister, D, Dominy, S.W.J, Baker, J.A, Morris, D.M, Maure, J, Rice, J.A, Jones, T.A, Majumdar, I, Hazlett, P.W, Titus, B.D, Fleming, R.L, Wetzel, S
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	biomass certification climate energy experts forests fuels industry issues and policy markets monitoring polymers rural communities sustainable forestry
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Ontario's forest sector is undergoing a significant shift owing to declining markets for traditional products; this shift is further exacerbated by a cyclical industry downturn. These factors are leading to extensive job losses in Ontario's north as well as rural community upheaval. Governments are striving to reverse these effects by stimulating new industries focused on using forest biofibre for products such as fuel for energy, specialty chemicals, and polymers. In light of these new demands, provincial and federal policy and science experts are examining the range of potential forest biomass utilization opportunities in terms of their long-term implications for sustainability, role in an emerging bioeconomy, and the possible influences of, for example, a changing climate and technological advances. Current research and broad-scale monitoring projects are helping to answer several important questions in the ecological, economic, policy, resource supply, and technological realms, while new questions must be continually addressed. In this paper, we describe the legislative, policy, and administrative context in which the sustainable biofibre industry may exist. We argue that social, economic, and environmental goals for a sustainable forest biofibre industry in Ontario can best be achieved by adhering to the principles of adaptive management. Market forces and third-party certification, which can influence the biofibre sector, are also discussed.
ISSN:	0015-7546 1499-9315