Will Horter, vice president of Global Forest Watch Canada
Four years ago, I was trudging through streams climbing steep slopes training forestwatchers to monitor their forests. Two years ago I came to Washington D.C. with 50 other people when Global Forest Watch was just a dream. Now I’m here to launch an impressive new organization and share initial findings.
Unlike the U.S. or other countries, in Canada over 90 percent of forests are publicly owned. However, most of this area is managed by a handful of companies. This map shows that 13 companies manage close to half of Canada’s forests. These 13 companies have huge holdings, each at least the size of Switzerland. As such, these companies are in a powerful position to promote better forest management on the ground or cause further degradation.
