Overview

Western Canada SFI Implementation Committee (WCSIC)

The WCSIC is comprised of the BC and Prairie Regional Committees.

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) program is a comprehensive system of principles, objectives and performance measures developed by professional foresters, conservationists and scientists, among others that combines the perpetual growing and harvesting of trees with the long-term protection of wildlife, plants, soil and water quality. The SFI Standard spells out the requirements of compliance with the program. The SFI 2022 Forest Management Standards and Rules is based on 13 Principles that address economic, environmental, Indigenous rights and legal issues, in addition to a commitment to continuously improve sustainable forest management.

SFI Program Participants encourage a wide range of interested stakeholders to engage on practices within the context of economic, environmental and social interests. Stakeholders include but are not limited to Indigenous peoples, private landowners, independent loggers, consultants, government land managers, legislators, university scientists, and conservationists. These resource professionals volunteer a significant amount of time to assure that national SFI program objectives are consistently implemented and adapted to region-specific needs. Forest land owners and forest land managers who enroll in the SFI Program and become certified under the SFI Standard, meeting each of its Objectives become SFI Program Participants. Key activities of the WCSIC Regional Committees are outreach, education and training, reporting, communications and inconsistent practice reviews.

WCSIC Activities and Responsibilities

SFI Implementation Committees (SICs) perform local outreach and education activities that promote sustainable forestry, the SFI Program, and SFI Standard compliance. Through a consensus-based process, SFI Program Participants have defined SIC responsibilities as:

Core SIC Mission – Priorities for all SICs

1. Establish criteria and identify delivery mechanisms for logger and forester training to define what it means to be “SFI trained”;
2. Establish and maintain protocols for addressing inconsistent practices;
3. Focus landowner outreach efforts on education and technical assistance;
4. Focus public outreach efforts on increasing SFI Program recognition and support with local opinion leaders and forestry professionals;
5. Document progress through a SIC Annual Progress Report to SFI Inc.; and
6. Protect the integrity of the SFI program by: a) ensuring proper SIC service mark usage, b) alerting SFI Inc. when improper communications or misleading claims are observed, and c) avoiding the appearance of participation or compliance by non-SFI Program Participants.

Secondary SIC Mission – Priorities determined by each SIC, individual participants may choose not to participate or support even if the SIC pursues these objectives.

1. Provide delivery mechanisms for logger and forester training to address SFI Program needs not adequately provided by other programs;
2. Sponsor active public outreach efforts that may include paid advertising;
3. Encourage large landowners and all forest products manufacturers to enroll as SFI Program Participants; encourage family forest owners to participate in Tree Farm or similar programs as appropriate; and
4. Encourage agencies to provide timely, accurate harvest and regeneration statistics.
5. Promote forestry research, science and technology, upon which sustainable forest management decisions are based.
6. Consider support for collaborative approaches to conservation of biological diversity, climate and fire smart forestry.

WCSIC Operating Principles

Membership – SFI participants, others in advisory capacity
Purpose – SFI specific promotion and quality control
Organization – SFI participants should develop & share with SFI Inc.

• Charter/bylaws
• Annual work plan
• Budget
• Membership list

Governance – independent committee guided by MOU & Licensing Agreement