With over 347 million hectares of forest, Canada has 9% of the world’s forests. Forests dominate many Canadian landscapes, but cover only 38% of Canada’s land area. The forest area of Canada is stable, with less than half of 1% deforested since 1990. Although 77% of Canada’s forests are found in the boreal zone, 37% of Canada’s wood volume is found in our temperate forests.

Canadian’s national forests are overgrown and vulnerable to unnaturally severe wildfire. Forest fires make headlines across Canada every summer. They regularly devastate millions of acres of forest and sometimes threaten entire communities with sudden, catastrophic violence. Destructive fires have an enduring impact on the community that lingers long after people return home to resume their lives.

Forest management areas include forest lands, but also non-forest and inland water areas within the management unit’s boundaries. Some statistical reporting, such as the area of certified forest, refers to forest management area, rather than the forest area.

The risks and impacts of severe wildfires can be reduced by removing excess fuels from our forests.  Forest management tools- including timber harvests, thinning and prescribed fire- are essential to improving forest health. Climate change will likely increase the incidence of fire, resulting in more area burned in Canada, and across much of the global boreal zone. We also need to adapt our wildfire response strategies to a world of more frequent, more intense fires. Natural Resources Canada estimates the fire protection costs could double in Canada by 2040 as we attempt to keep up with the worsening risk.

These fires have global implications because they also release greenhouse gases and change the energy balance of the Earth’s surface. In parallel, landscapes will also be changing in response to climate, human developments, and disturbances.