Deforestation & Forest Degradation

Big Forestry in Nova Scotia, the forestry folks in the Nova Scotia government and the federal forestry folks in Canada like to point out that there has been very little deforestation in NS and in Canada at large.*  This, the feds say, is evidence enough that “Canadian forests are healthy, productive and thriving.”

Critics have maintained that while the forest cover may not have changed,  forest degradation has occurred though conversion of older forest to younger forest and though species simplification, e.g., see NRDC, 2017
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*Deforestation occurs when forest is converted to an unforested state (NG) e.g.,  it’s cleared for settlement or agriculture. “Afforestation” is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees (forestation) in an area where there was no previous tree cover.(WP) In NS, overall, we have had net afforestation since the early 1900s due to abandonment of agricultural lands and their natural reversion to forest, but net deforestation of about 15% of the land since pre-settler times. (See Land Base). Forest Degradation is variously defined.  The UN-REDD (United Nations Programme on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation)  defines it as ‘ the human-induced loss of carbon stocks within forest land that remains forest land’* .Thomson et al., 2013 define it as “reduction in the capacity of a forest to produce ecosystem services; Betts et al., 2022 define is as “the reduction or or loss of biological complexity in forests”, e.g.by changing the age structure  through clearcutting or highgrading (selective removal of oldest trees), use of herbicides to increase softwoods.
*UN-REDD Technical Resource Series 3: Towards a Common Understanding of REDD+ under the UNFCCC (2016)

–  Shady Accounting and Vanishing Forests on Nova Scotia’s Crown Lands 14Jul2024
Nina Newington on nsforestmatters.ca Jul 24, 2024. Adapted from from Shady Accounting and Vanishing Forests by Nina Newington in Beyond the Tides Winter 2024 (Blomidon Naturalists Society) Vol. 51, No.1, pp 7-13. https://blomidonnaturalists.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Winter-2024-Beynd-the-tides.pdf

–  On Reversing Forest Degradation in Nova Scotia
David Patriquin for NS Forest Notes, created June 8, 2022.  View as PDF

–  Deforestation: Definitions, Trends, and Policies for Forests and Forest Products
Kathryn Fernholz et al., for Dovetail Partners, Feb 2023. [“Dovetail seeks to engage you in thoughtful, collaborative processes so that we can create an inspiring path forward and empower you to lead with confidence. Dovetail seeks to accomplish that by providing authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental management, including consumption choices, land use decisions, and policy alternatives. Dovetail is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors through collaboration to develop unique concepts, systems, models, and programs. Dovetail excels at solving complex problems and helping responsible organizations succeed. We also help define programs that increase the job creation and the job quality of resource-based industries. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation.”] “This report explores our understanding of deforestation – starting with the terminology – and examines recent global trends and policy actions. Effective strategies to address the negative impacts of deforestation require a greater shared understanding of long term land use trends, robust and elegant cross-commodity policies (i.e., linking food and forest production systems), and scalable actions, including substantial investment, from diverse public and private sector leaders at all levels. Unfortunately deforestation continues for social and political reasons to be a significant global problem, and there are limits to our measurement processes. We can observe, count, and record land conditions – but to understand change we also need to know the intentions of landowners, policy makers, and other influencers. A great deal of work is underway to address deforestation. From private companies reducing their impacts, to policy actions and investment in restoration activities, there are many working models of success to build from. With continued global collaboration and innovation there is good reason to be optimistic about the future of the world’s forests.”