PRESS RELEASE

 For immediate publication

FOREST: MUCH MORE THAN JUST WOOD

(Québec - April 28 2005) The Fédération québécoise des gestionnaires de zecs would like to congratulate Minister Pierre Corbeil and the Government of Québec for their courage and their determination to provide society as a whole with a healthy forest. The Board of Directors of the FQGZ unanimously endorses the recommendation and the application of a 20% reduction in wood harvesting levels.

The temporary preventive reduction recommended by the Coulombe Commission is necessary in light of the observations made by several organizations. The weaknesses of the SYLVA 2 software identified by the Commission are of sufficient concern. The government had to act and has made responsible decisions in this respect.

According to the Commission, there has been a significant decline in the wood resource. The dwindling resource, combined with the new demands of the population concerning sustainable development, are such that the new calculation of the  forestry potential will have take into account the new values of society regarding the management of the terrestrial wildlife habitat, which has all too often been forgotten.

The FQGZ is aware that these new values will surely have a short- and medium-term impact on the availability of wood for processing purposes.  However, the economic contribution resulting from these new orientations in the sustainable development field will also have a positive impact on the economy of the regions.

The FQGZ invites regional circles to discover the economic potential  of annually renewable resources other than wood. The FQGZ proposes that Minister Corbeil consider, among other things, the tourism resource, the wildlife resource, etc. as mitigation measures that should be favoured.

Source :
Suzanne St-Amour
General Manager
(418) 527-0235
suzanne.st-amour@fqgz.qc.ca