Media Release

December 1, 2009

Alberta a leader in Sustainable Forest Management reporting

Report looks at the health of biodiversity in Al-Pac Forest Management Agreement area

EDMONTON, December 1, 2009 – The Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute (ABMI) released its Preliminary Assessment of the status of biodiversity in the Alberta-Pacific Forest Industries Forest Management Agreement (Al-Pac FMA) area today. The findings in this report serve as a benchmark for the environmental health of an area that comprises nine per cent of Alberta’s land base and eight per cent of Canada’s Boreal Plains Ecosystem.

The report, which details the status of various species and habitats throughout the Al-Pac FMA, states that the region’s species are 96 per cent intact and the region’s habitats are 97 per cent intact. Approximately seven per cent of the landscape in the area has been altered by human activities, primarily forestry and energy operations.  

“The information contained in this report provides us with a picture in time of biodiversity in our FMA,” says Al Ward, president and chief operating officer for Al-Pac. “We are committed to monitoring biodiversity through collaboration with ABMI to identify and understand any changes, develop options to mitigate them and monitor the outcomes.”

In the coming months, the ABMI will continue to report on Alberta’s ecological well-being by releasing subsequent reports on the status of non-native weeds and the health of other land use regions.

“Both Alberta’s Oil Sands Plan and the provincial Land-use Framework identify the need to plan for a sustainable future,” adds Kirk Andries, executive director ABMI. “The ABMI’s biodiversity monitoring program provides an arms-length, scientifically credible measurement tool used to establish and track performance over time. The work the ABMI is doing sets the benchmark for the environmental health of Alberta today and will play a significant role as the province implements a cumulative effects approach to managing the environment and ecosystem. Alberta can demonstrate to the world that we are effective stewards of this great province.”

The ABMI is an independent organization that reports on Alberta’s ecological prosperity. The only organization of its kind in North America, the ABMI conducts world-class, independent, science-based monitoring of the changing state of Alberta’s species, habitats, and ecosystems – the province’s ecological goods and services.

Al-Pac is North America's largest single-line kraft pulp mill, producing 650,000 air-dried metric tonnes of bleached hardwood and softwood pulp annually. The company’s 1,100 team members and contractors are focused on producing quality pulp for customers around the world and environmental leadership. In 2005, Al-Pac received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, a leading standard that embraces social and environmental values along with sound forest management and manufacturing practices.

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