I am doing some research on the issue of certification with respect to sustainably managed woodlots in New Brunswick. Here in N.B. private non industrial woodlot owners control roughly 30% of the productive landbase. These woodlot owners supply as much as 40% of the raw material to the wood processing facilities in N.B. Many of the forestry companies in N.B. have begun the process of certification on the crown land that they manage. If the large forestry companies have long range plans to sell wood products that are coming from sustainably managed forests then it seems obvious that the private woodlot owners will have to manage sustainably if they intend to sell to these same industries. Some of the questions that seem to remain unanswered are: 1) Who will decide whether or not a woodlot is considered sustainably managed? 2) How large of an area will have to be managed with the same overall objectives in order for it to be classed as sustainably managed? Will community based forestry initiatives play a larger role? 3) Will woodlot owners be forced to give some of their rights of ownership? I know that there are no concrete answers to these questions but I would be very interested to hear some of the opinions surrounding these and other unanswered questions concerning certification of private woodlots. Thank You Ken Thomas Silvi Care Forestry RR # 1 Stanley N.B. Canada E0H 1T0
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