Ontario’s forest update lacks global perspective: Greenpeace
A report that paints a “rosy” outlook on the state of Ontario’s forests is fundamentally flawed because the province’s definition of sustainability does not take a more global perspective, according to Greenpeace.
The province released its fifth annual forest report on Wednesday, which concluded habitat availability for various species has been maintained, the volume of forests is growing, deforestation is being controlled and more Indigenous communities are participating in resource revenue sharing agreements.
But Shane Moffatt, head of Greenpeace’s Food and Nature campaign, said the document’s focus misses the mark.
“It completely failed to understand that we’re in a global biodiversity and climate crisis. And that Ontario’s forests are part of that problem when they should be part of the solution,” said Moffatt.
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The report also found that habitat availability for various species remains sufficient to meet the needs of the current population of six indicator animals: moose, martens, snowshoe hares, least flycatchers, white-throated sparrows and ovenbirds. Each of those species requires a different kind of forest to survive; moose need wetlands and young forests, while martens require mature conifer forests.