Ontario and Forest Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Ontario and Forest Sustainability - Essay voiceAlthough Canada is often deemed, from a romantic point of view, as a source of endless beauty and raw(a) resources, this is simply not the case. There are limits. The Ontario forests are owned primarily by the province of Ontario, chthonian the auspices of the Crown Forest, and represent more than ninety percent of all forested priming in the province of these forested lands, slightly more than thirty percent go through been allocated for generative uses. These productive uses include the cutting down of timber, tourism, and a variety of other uses. Because these forested lands provide antithetic benefits to different groups, both aesthetic and economic, philosophical conflicts are inevitable. The provincial Ministry of Natural Resources of Ontario asserts that it is doing everything possible to sustain the forested lands and, yet, in that location are those that counter that more needs to be done given certain data suggesting tha t sustainability problems have occurred and continue to emerge. The question presented, in short, is whether Ontario is doing enough, both in terms of policy formulation and implementation, in nine to truly ensure sustainability. I am of the view that, while Ontarios actions seem superficially comprehensive and cohesive, the event is that there remain very real problems regarding the forests and related industry. How might Ontario better approach this issue of sustainability I will attempt to provide some answers by discussing the goals and signs of sustainability, some of the policies and programs adopted in Ontario, and the ultimate veracity on the ground.Sustainable Development DefinedAs a preliminary matter, it is important to define what is meant by the term, sustainable development. The most widely accepted definition has been attributed to the Bruntland Commission which stated that sustainable development is that type of development that meets the needs of the present wit hout compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.1 This implies a policy model that emphasizes regeneration more specifically, sustainable development demands that our actions today do not injustice people in the future. The difficulty is that sustainability must account for several sub-types of sustainability these sub-types include environmental sustainability, political sustainability, complaisant sustainability, and economic sustainability. One can easily imagine the conflicts which arise when one group tends to emphasize environmental sustainability, for instance, and another group chooses instead to emphasize political sustainability given certain economic pressures and rewards. These competing points of view have been stated as philosophies or ideologies governing how policy should be inspired and designed. The ecocentric school of thought treats everything as an interrelated living whole and posits that all policy decisions must account for all t ypes of sustainability2 the anthropocentric approach, on the other hand, holds that the well-being of human beings must transcend all other concerns.3 Many critics have argued that the anthropocentric approach has resulted in legislation and policies which have exacerbated rather than minimized certain sustainability concerns. An