The wide influence of C&I

Canada was one of the first countries in the world to declare its support for SFM, and one of the first to champion C&I for measuring and reporting progress. Our first national C&I were released in 1995.

Since then, the Canadian C&I package has been widely adopted and adapted. Provinces and territories, non-government organizations, industry groups, certification bodies, researchers and even other countries look to the Canadian framework for the benefits it offers.

Because of our country’s wealth of experience in applying C&I to SFM, other countries are turning to us for help in developing their own C&I processes. As interest in SFM spreads around the globe, demand for a C&I framework—and for people skilled at developing and applying one—will no doubt mean more calls for Canadian know-how.

Some applications of C&I

National forest strategies – C&I have been central to developing Canada’s forest strategies for two decades now. C&I were used in the final evaluation of the last National Forest Strategy (2003–2008).

Provincial and territorial reporting – At least five provinces use C&I as a framework for their State of the Forests reports and for measuring their progress in meeting SFM objectives. Other provinces are adopting and adapting C&I to suit their own situations.

Research – C&I help guide national forest research. The Sustainable Forest Management Network, a partnership of more than 150 university, industry and government institutions, uses C&I to help identify its research needs.

Support for international trade – The federal government uses C&I reports to demonstrate Canada’s commitment to SFM and to promote Canadian forest products to international markets.

Forest certification and audits – Forest companies use C&I in their efforts to meet forest certification standards. Third-party auditors use C&I to evaluate companies’ performance.

Model forest reporting – Model forests across Canada have adopted C&I as a framework for reporting on progress toward SFM objectives.