WCC 2020 Res 079 - Activity Report

In 2016, SFI began working with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) to assess the effectiveness of the SFI 2015-2019 FM Standard at meeting the requirements of published SAR Recovery Strategies in Canada. The results of the assessment indicated that SFI-certified organizations met or exceeded the requirements for those species examined, but those activities were not captured by the SFI audit process. In 2019, to address this gap and provide assurances that managed forests provided for the requirements of species recovery, SFI drafted the SFI Species at Risk Module (SFI SAR Module). This optional module allows SFI-certified organizations to document the work they do specific to meeting the needs of species at risk and the obligations documented in species recovery strategies, providing the assurances to regulators of sound management and recovery conditions for species at risk within their forests. The SAR Module has been field tested by SFI-certified organizations and reviewed extensively by ECCC to help ensure it generates the greatest benefit for species at risk conservation and recovery while being practical and applicable for forest managers in Canada. This work is ongoing, with detailed collaboration between SFI, ECCC and SFI certified organizations to finalize the Module.