Who are we?
The Sustainable Forest Alliance Inc. (SFA) is a group of forest-owners on Prince Edward Island with an objective of joining together to help meet the collective goals of both our members and Islanders to have sustainable forests and healthy environments today and for generations to come. We are a brand new and growing organization with lofty goals of growing our membership to 50,000 acres of Prince Edward Island forests within three years.
The SFA is a collaborative group with a commitment to sustainable forest management in private forests and forest sector development in a responsible manner that will provide long-term opportunity, economic diversification, and viable careers for Prince Edward Islanders to implement sustainable forestry practices. We will support and promote the use of local resources that are sustainably harvested and managed with a long-term vision.
Our goals will always start with healthy and resilient forests, with our main objective being to restore, sustain, and increase the value of forests on Prince Edward Island and to increase the value proposition of being a woodlot owner in our province. We will do this by providing information to woodlot owners on how their lands contribute to society’s goals and objectives, such as: biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation efforts, clean water, spaces for enjoyment, and economic resiliency through the development and promotion of viable local businesses that rely on forests and forest products.
Why now?
We believe that forests on Prince Edward Island would benefit from an impartial non-profit organization that can advise woodlot owners on management and to promote and co-ordinate diversified and sustainable forest sector growth. Collaboration among forest owners and others with an interest in the sustainable management of land and resources will ultimately lead to improved outcomes for forests and our communities across the Island.
Forests are constantly under threat and face rapidly changing environments driven by social, economic, and environmental pressures. Climate change is a reality in our forests that requires thoughtful planning, monitoring, and research to ensure that our forests can adapt and continue to grow and sequester carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, provide forest products to society, and to provide for other ecosystem services such as wildlife habitat and contribute to healthy watersheds.
Land is increasing in value on Prince Edward Island – mostly with emphasis on non-forest land-uses that diminishes incentives to keep forests as forests. We believe that a vibrant forest sector that can add an additional layer of value for forestland on PEI will help to keep forests as forests so future generations can benefit from these amazing spaces while also providing economic opportunities for our local communities.
Further, we believe that Island society does in fact place high values on forests for places of enjoyment – so we intend to do our best to make the protection and sustainable management of forests top of mind for all Islanders. We will achieve this by helping woodlot owners to understand how their forests play into a grand vision of sustainable resource management and healthy ecosystems that will benefit all communities and families for generations to come.
What are our plans?
We plan and hope to build trust with woodlot owners who hold differing values for their land. We believe all landowners have a space in our organization whether they want to actively manage their land or manage it entirely for conservation purposes or other values. We plan to join forces with anyone who has an interest in the land. We are always open for discussing and collaborating on new trail ideas, forest production ventures, artisan-level forest product use, conservation and protection of landscapes, or climate change research to name a few ideas.
We have plans of our own – and one of those main plans is to simply be a collaborator and connection point between those with interest in the land and those who own the land. We are idealists, that want to work together for the betterment of forests, natural spaces, and people on Prince Edward Island.
If you like how this sounds – please reach out to us at: info@peiforests.ca