North America^1,2

¹ The above highlights for North America cover Canada, the United States of America and Mexico,

² Unless otherwise stated, all data on forest cover and forest products cited are from FAO databases: Forest Resources Assessment and the FAO Yearbook of Forest Products.

Social and economic conditions play a major role in shaping forest resource conditions, patterns of use and forest policies. In all three countries of North America the over-riding and increasing importance of demographic trends and economic policies is clear. Population growth has a significant effect on the I forests of Mexico - approximately one-quarter of Mexico's population lives in rural areas; one-half of these people live in forested areas, and the demand for agricultural land is high. In the United States, and to a lesser extent Canada, population growth also leads to changes in patterns of use and ownership. In all three countries, demographic changes contribute to significant changes in expectations for forests and forest policies. Macroeconomic policies and trade policies (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement - NAFTA) affect forest use and forest industries primarily through their effects on levels and patterns of economic growth. In general, economic growth has been associated with higher demand for commodities, including forest-based commodities, and higher expectations for the environmental benefits that forests can provide.

Forest resources

Following two centuries of almost continuous decline, the forest area of the United States stabilized in the early 1990s. In Mexico, there is a long history of forest clearing associated with demand for land for agriculture; this process continues today. The current forest cover of North America is estimated to be about three-quarters of the original (pre-European settlement) extent.

Table 1
Total land area, population and forest cover³

³ FAO, UN-ECE (1996) North American Timber Trends Study. ECE/TIM/SP/9. Geneva; Smith et al. (1994), Forest Statistics of the United States, 1992. Gen. Tech. Rep. NC-168.

	land area	population	forest areaa	other wooded land	total forest and other wooded land	forest cover	forest and other wooded land cover
	million ha	millions	million ha	million ha	million ha	percent	percent
Canada	922.1	29.5	245.4b	167.5c	416.2d	26.5	44.7
United States	915.9	263.3	212.5b	85.6c	298.1	23.2	32.5
Mexico	190.9	93.7	48.6	80.4	129.0	29.0	67.6
total	2 028.9	386.5	506.5	333.5	843.3	25.3	41.7

^a The discrepancy between the figures here for Canada and Mexico and those given in Data Table 2 of Annex 3 are due to the use of a different data set.

^b Productive forest land, including non-exploitable productive forest land.

^c Forest land defined as 'unproductive' for timber harvesting.

^d Includes area of unspecified forest.

Forests and other wooded land today cover approximately 850 million ha in North America, slightly more than 40 percent of the total land area. Of this, forests account for about 500 million ha, or 25 percent of the land area. North America represents about 16 percent of the world's land area and an equal share of the world's forests. The forests are quite varied and, in some cases, unique. Forest types from each of the boreal, temperate and tropical zones of the world are present. In addition, the region accounts for a significant share of the world's coastal temperate rainforest and nearly all of the world's temperate forest that has never been harvested.

Forests are not evenly distributed across the countries of the region or within each country. Canada accounts for half of the forest cover of North America, some 416 million ha of forest and other wooded land. Nearly half (45 percent) of the land area of Canada is forested (including other wooded land). However, cover varies from less than 20 percent of the land area in the Northwest Territories to nearly 85 percent in New Brunswick. The area of Canada's forest that is both productive and available for timber production is more or less equally distributed between western and eastern provinces.

The United States accounts for 35 percent of the forest and other wooded land of North America, nearly 300 million ha. Roughly one-third of the land area is forested but the forest cover of individual states varies widely, from one percent of the land area to nearly 90 percent. Total forest area is more or less evenly distributed between east and west but nearly three-quarters of the forest area that is both productive and available for timber production is in the eastern states.

Mexico accounts for less than 10 percent of the land area but 15 percent of the forest area of North America. More than two-thirds of the land area has forest cover, but the majority of the forested vegetation is open woodland, shrub and brushland that is classified as 'other wooded land'.

While the area of forest in Canada and the United States has roughly stabilized, in Mexico the annual reduction in natural forest area has been estimated to be about 1.4 percent over the period 1980-90. Some of this area has been reclassified as 'other wooded land' with the result that there has been a considerably slower rate of loss (-0.5 percent per year) estimated for the broader measure of forests and other wooded land.

In the mid-1990s, more than 1.5 million ha per year were planted or direct seeded in Canada and the United States. Intensively-managed plantations cover about 15 million ha in North America, most of which (more than 13 million ha) are in the United States. These are important contributors to the sustained production of fibre.

Fire protection and suppression are important components of forest management. Although the area consumed by fires has been considerably reduced as compared to the early 1900s, on average 2 to 4 million ha of forest are burned each year. In Canada, losses to fire and insects exceed the volume of timber harvested for industrial raw material.

Forest resources development and conservation

Patterns of forest ownership play an important role in present conditions, management and prospective developments in the forests of North America. In addition to differences across the three countries, there are significant regional or sub-national variations in forest ownership patterns (see Table 2). For example, the vast majority of Canada's forests and other wooded land are publicly owned: 94 percent of the forest area is in public ownership, most of which (71 percent) is managed by provincial governments. Only 6 percent of Canada's forests are privately owned by more than 425 thousand individuals and companies. Most private forest land in Canada is in eastern provinces. In contrast, more than half (55 percent) of all forest land in the United States is privately owned, and nearly three-quarters of the forest area that is both productive and available for timber production is owned by nearly 10 million private individuals or companies (see Table 3). The share of forest land in private ownership is highest in the eastern United States (more than 85 percent of productive available forest land). Unlike Canada, the US federal government owns and manages two-thirds of the publicly-owned productive forest land.

Table 2
Ownership of forest and other wooded land (percent)⁴

⁴ Smith et al. 1994; UN-ECE, 1996; Monreal Ing, Saul. 1996 pers. com

	public	private	commona
Canada	94.2	5.8	-
United States	45.1	54.9	-
Mexico	5.0	15.0	80.0
North America	63.2	24.5	12.2

^a Ejidos (common lands) and community forests

Table 3
Ownership of productive forest land by sub-region (percent)⁵

⁵ UN-ECE. 1996; Monreal (pers. com).

	Public	private	common
Canada, total	89.7	10.3	-
East	83,5	16.5	-
West	95.7	4.3	-
United States, total	26.9	73.1	-
East	14.2	85.7	-
West	60.8	39.2	-
Mexico, total	5.0	20.0	75.0
North	3.0	25.0	72.0
South	6.0	17.0	77.0

In Mexico, the federal government owns 5 percent of the forest area, 15 percent is privately owned and 80 percent of the forest area is in common ownership that includes common lands (ejidos) and community lands under the management of indigenous groups. More than half of the forest area that is both productive and available for timber production (about 30 million ha) is owned by nearly 3 500 ejidos and communities whose total! ³ population is 8.5 million. State governments do not own or manage forests.

More than one-third of the current forest and woodland area in the region is unavailable for timber harvesting, either because the forests are classified as unproductive for timber production, or because they are protected by legislation (e.g. parks and wildlife preserves) or by policy (e.g. protection forest on sensitive sites). (See Table 4.) Forests comprise a significant share of the nearly 200 million ha of formally protected areas (parks, wilderness areas, etc.) in North America.

The North American approach to forest management combines the philosophies of both multiple use and dominant use management as a means of assuring sustained production of a variety of forest-based goods and services. Forestry research is playing an increasingly important role in the implementation of forest management policies and is significantly influencing the development of forest policies. Collaboration among scientists from the public and private sectors across the continent is resulting in a broader understanding of the biological, social and economic dynamics associated with the forest ecosystems of North America.

Greater public attention paid to environmental issues has shifted the focus of forest management in North America, especially on public lands, from efforts to sustain the yield of fibre to assuring that forests sustain a broad range of outputs defined by the diverse objectives of the population. A combination of pressure from interest groups, and the implementation of legal and administrative requirements, has resulted in public forest management in the United States giving increasing weight to habitat requirements for forest-dependent species, sustaining biological diversity and a greater recognition of large-scale and long-term consequences of management and use of forests.

Table 4
Area of forests unavailable for timber harvesting (million ha)⁶

⁶ UN-ECE. 1996; Monreal (pers, com.).

	'unproductive'	productive, reserved	other	total
Canada	167.5	8.7		176.2
United States	100.0	14.4		114.4
Mexico	n.a.	n.a.	6.4a	6.4
North America	267.5	23.1	6.4	297.0

^a Area owned and managed by the federal government

In all three countries, forest management decision making is being challenged to be more transparent and to incorporate effective participation of those affected by decisions. Alternative approaches to establishing consensus on objectives and new partnerships are forming among government, industry, labour, environmental groups and indigenous peoples. For example, in 1991 Canada embarked on extensive public consultations to produce a national forest strategy. Published one year later, the strategy identifies close to one hundred commitments that reflect the values, vision and goals held for Canada's forests. An independent panel will evaluate progress in implementing the strategy before it terminates in March 1997. Findings will then be used to develop a new strategy that is likely to be released in the autumn of 1997, again after full consultation with partners and interest groups.

Table 5
Volume of growing stock inventory (1000 million m³)

	softwood	hardwood	total
Canada	19.3	5.4	24.7
United States	12.7	9.5	22.2
Mexico	n.a.	n.a.	1.8
North America	n.a.	n.a.	48.7

Forest products and services

North American forests currently have a timber inventory of nearly 50 billion m³ (see Table 5). Two-thirds of this is in softwood species. In all three countries, estimated net growth of this stock exceeds the rate of harvest, although the greatest surplus is in hardwood species.

North America accounts for 20 percent of world production of wood and nearly 40 percent of world production of industrial roundwood (see Table 6). The United States currently accounts for 70 percent of the timber harvest in North America, and Canada accounts for about 25 percent. In both the United States and Canada, more than 80 percent of timber harvested is used as raw material for industrial products. Coniferous species account for more than two-thirds of the total volume harvested in the United States and Canada. Mexico's share of total timber harvest in the region is small (5 percent), and the majority of wood harvested (nearly 70 percent) is fuelwood. Less than 5 percent of timber harvesting in Mexico occurs in tropical hardwood forests.

Over the period 1960-94, timber harvests in the United States, Canada and Mexico increased sharply (see Table 7). In the United States, the volume harvested increased by roughly 40 percent; it nearly doubled in Canada and increased by 40 percent in Mexico.

Private forests, which account for 25 percent of the forest area (see Table 2), provide more than 70 percent of the timber produced in North America (see Table 8) and accounted for nearly all of the increase in timber harvesting over the period 1960-90. In the USA, private lands - comprising about half of all forests - provide more than 90 percent of production. Similarly in Canada, private forests produce a far greater proportion of timber than its share of forest land (19 percent production on 6 percent of forest land).

Table 6
Wood production by type, and forest products trade value, 1994 (million m³, US$ 1000 million)

	industrial roundwood	fuelwood and charcoal	total roundwood	forest products imports	forest products exports	net trade (value)
	million m3	million m3	million m3	US$ 1000 million	US$ 1000 million	US$ 1000 million
Canada	173.1	6.8	180.0	2.1	19.3	17.2
United States	402.5	93.3	495.8	16.9	13.4	(3.5)
Mexico	7.5	15.8	23,3	1,2	0.3	(0.9)
North America	583.1	115.9	699.1	20.2	33.0	12.8
World	1 528.6	1 875.9	3 404.4	106.7	99.6
North America share (percent)	38.1	6.3	20.5	18.9	33.1

Table 7
Industrial roundwood harvest, 1960-94 (million m³)

	1960	1994
Canada	96.9	173.1
United States	287.4 a	402.5
Mexico	5.3 b	7.5
North America	389.6	583.1

^a data for 1962
^b data for 1961

Table 8
Timber harvest by owner category, 1993

	total harvest	percent of total harvest from public lands a	percent of total harvest from private lands
	million m3
Canada	173.1	81	19
United States	402.5	6	94
Mexico	7.5	50 e	50 e
North America	583.1	29	71

^a includes harvest from common forest in Mexico
e = estimated.

Wood-based manufacturing industries employ more than 1.6 million persons in the region and an additional 2.0-2.5 million jobs can be attributed to the economic activity of these industries. Wood-based manufacturing accounts for about 3 percent of the GDP of both the United States and Canada, and about 2 percent of the GDP of Mexico. Forest products trade among the three countries accounts for nearly one-quarter of the value of world trade in forest products.

In addition to wood products, the forests of North America provide a range of goods and services and contribute to national economies through employment in forest-related industries such as recreation and tourism. They play an important role in sustaining environmental services such as watershed protection, and provide habitat for a wide variety and an abundant quantity of terrestrial and aquatic wildlife.

Timber harvest from public lands in the western United States has declined since the late 1980s in response to legal mandates to sustain wildlife habitats and biological diversity, and in response to demand for non-commodity services from public forests. Among the consequences of this are a greater reliance on private forests, increased imports from Canada and reduced exports.

Demands on North American forests are projected to increase over the next two decades. In the United States, much of the production potential rests on plantations established over the past two decades, especially in the southern states. The shortage of high-quality softwood timber is expected to result in higher prices which will, in turn, stimulate the use of wood-based panels and the relatively under-utilized hardwood resources of both Canada and the United States, where growth currently exceeds removals.

Forestry policies

In all three countries, forestry policies continue to emphasize the need to balance long- and short-term social and economic benefits. Although attention was originally focused on public lands, in the United States, private forest management is increasingly being affected. In all three countries, forest owners are increasingly engaged in partnerships to define objectives for forest management across multiple ownerships and large landscapes. At the same time, it is recognized that, because the region is important in world trade in forest products, changes in regional policies may have consequences outside the region and outside the forest sector and forest environment. This also presents new challenges to the countries in developing resource policies and in management decisions.

Forestry institutions

While each of the three countries within North America has its own infrastructure for dealing with forest issues nationally, the FAO North American Forest Commission (NAFC) is the main forum for addressing common concerns on a continental basis.

Canada, Mexico and the United States carry out collective applied research, natural resource management activities and technical exchanges in the following areas: fire management; insects and disease; atmospheric changes and forests; silviculture; forest genetic resources; the protection of habitats of neotropical migratory species; and forest products, including non-wood forest products.

New Initiatives

A network of model forests has been established through cross-border cooperative arrangements, and innovative forest management practices are being tested and implemented in a variety of situations including on an international level. Canada's model forest programme was established in 1991 to accelerate the implementation of new approaches to forest management based on shared decision making. Ten model forests were selected to represent the ecological diversity of the major forested regions of Canada. Mexico was the first country to join the international network with the establishment of two sites: Calakmul and Chihuahua. Each is twinned with a Canadian partner to facilitate the exchange of technical information and enhance working relationships. The United States and Mexico also have established pairings of managed forests through the Sister Forest programme. In March 1995, three sites in the United States were linked to the international network - one Adaptive Management Area (AMA) from each of the Pacific Coastal states. With the addition of the Cispus AMA in Washington, the Applegate AMA in Oregon, and the Hayfork AMA in California, there are now managed forests throughout the temperate rainforest region of North America.

Canada, Mexico and the United States are all members of the Montreal Process for defining and implementing criteria and indicators for sustainable forest management for boreal and temperate forests outside Europe (see Part 3). Participation by all three countries in this effort is expected to further cooperative approaches to management of forests on a continental basis.

Summary

The forest issues of North America are many and varied. Some are unique to specific countries while others clearly cross and transcend national boundaries. The challenge ahead for both private and public forestry is to implement sustainable forest ecosystem management as the understanding of the biological, social, and economic issues and complexities evolves.

In an effort to meet growing demands for a variety of outputs, the implementation of management objectives and practices is becoming increasingly complex and costly, especially in public forests. Therefore, market conditions are a critical consideration in the ability to implement some aspects of ecosystem management successfully.

Advances related to environmental and economic dimensions of forest ecosystem management are being made but have only begun to be addressed for social and cultural aspects. Similarly, more remains to be done to assess the multiple benefits of forests to society and outline society's responsibility towards sustainable forest management within the context of participatory decision making.