"We should all be concerned about the future because we will have to spend the rest of our lives there." (Charles F. Kettering)

The future of Canada's forests is being shaped by a variety of rapidly evolving economic, environmental and social values that Canadians deem important. Some of the issues currently preoccupying Canadians include: the long-term timber supply and the competitiveness of the forest sector; the impacts of climate change on Canada's forests; the integration of non-timber forest values; the conservation and protection of forest ecosystems; the impacts of harvesting practices on wildlife habitat; biodiversity; and forest landscapes. Canadians also expect governments to provide sound forest policy and timely and comprehensive information for balanced decision making and to demonstrate conclusively that Canada practices sustainable forest management.

In the recent past, Canadian governments have responded to growing public interest and concerns with greater regulatory control, largely aimed at improving forest practices and expanding parks and protected areas. Governments and industry are also increasing the degree of public participation in forest planning and management, widening Canada's forest knowledge base, developing forest information systems and placing more emphasis on non-timber forest benefits. At the same time, Aboriginal peoples, woodlot owners, local communities and forest workers all seek a more prominent role in decision-making processes.

Public concern and competitiveness are powerful forces that will shape the future of Canada's forests, which today contribute three percent of the country's GDP and provide direct and indirect employment for an estimated one million people. Existing policy and institutional and commercial frameworks need to evolve so that the forest sector of tomorrow can continue its historical record of success.

The future of the forest sector rests on a multi-faceted, coordinated approach by all levels of government and stakeholders that includes, among others, the integration of Aboriginal and local community forest values; increasing attention to non-timber products and uses; new technologies and management practices; new and innovative partnerships; certification programs; life-cycle analysis approaches; plantation forests; and efforts to improve Canadian performance in international markets.

This article looks to the future in an effort to determine how the forest sector might change in the years ahead. It is possible, for example, to envision a dynamic future that features:

Public participation that takes place in the planning stages of forest management, and is enlightened by accurate, comprehensive and balanced information, thereby allowing conflicts to be resolved at the development stage of management plans; Greater national and international interest in non-timber uses and products, particularly in areas such as medicine and nutrition; Forest policies that have been developed using the best science, that integrate forest management and planning, and that involve a spectrum of specified uses and values, both timber and non-timber; A more flexible forest industry that is able to take advantage of the rapid changes in an increasingly competitive marketplace; A holistic, legally binding international forest agreement for all types of forest; Indigenous knowledge, values, principles and perspectives incorporated into national and international actions on sustainable forest management; Greater forest management capacity developed through strengthened educational opportunities nationwide, with particular attention to Aboriginal and local communities involved in resource management; Greater reliance on private woodlots to provide forest products and a greater commitment to sustainable forest management; and Results-oriented rather than rules-based regulatory policies.