Cliquez ici pour consulter la présente page en français.

Overview

The Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT) is proposing a new Forest Act to amend and combine the existing Forest Management Act and the Forest Protection Act.

This new Act is being developed collaboratively with Indigenous governments, Indigenous organizations and Renewable Resource Boards, following the Intergovernmental Council on Land and Resource Management: Legislative Development Protocol.

The new legislation will recognize the co-management of forests in the NWT, consider the many values of and pressures on the forest including climate change, redefine NWT forests as ecosystems, and modernize the NWT’s harvest permitting and regulatory framework for forest resources.

Principles of the proposed Forest Act

• Land, resources and self-government agreements that set out provisions of co-management of forests must be followed.
• Aboriginal and Treaty rights must be respected and recognized.
• Forest management decision-making should use the best available information, including Indigenous and scientific knowledge.
• Forests are a natural resource and there should be responsible stewardship of forest ecosystems.
• An adaptive management approach is essential to understand northern forests, including the effects of climate change.