Mission, Vision, and Strategic plan

Global Forest Watch Canada's Mission Statement

To support the stewardship and conservation of Canada's remaining forests, by providing decision makers and civil society with timely, accurate information on their location, state, and change. In particular, this mission includes monitoring development activities occurring within and around Canada's forests, which influence the current and future conditions of these ecosystems as well as the people who live within them. We contribute to a shift toward greater ecological sustainability in the management of natural areas by creating a compelling visual picture and analysis of current conditions, historical changes and future trends.

Global Forest Watch Canada's Vision

Canada’s forests will be increasingly well managed through better information that supports improved decision-making and thereby they will provide a full range of benefits for both present and future generations.

Global Forest Watch Canada's Guiding Principles/Values


1. Independence: Operates an independent Canada-wide organization that monitors and maps forest developments, conditions and trends, and which has board and staff members who are not directly involved in large-scale management or extraction of forest resources.

2. Wide Participation: Seeks the support, advice and help of a wide range of institutions and individuals, at local, national and international levels. In particular, we will seek to work closely with First Nations on projects that involve traditional territories and will seek to incorporate traditional knowledge as much as possible.

3. Information: Provides access -- to civil society and decision makers -- to better, objective, credible information about development activities and about conditions and trends in Canada’s forests. Data and information is to be made widely and freely available wherever possible, in consideration of limitations imposed by information sources.

4. Transparency and accountability: Produces products which are: peer-reviewed; well-documented; methodologically transparent; made readily available to civil society and decisions makers, and; limited to presenting and analyzing conditions and trends information, based primarily on data and other quantifiable measures. Products will not contain policy recommendations or other proscriptive information, beyond those related to improving data, information and research.

5. Credibility and Objectivity: Defines and adopts a data and information accreditation system that includes the following elements:

    a. Thorough documentation of data collection methods used. Where possible, this documentation will also list information sources.
    b. Submission of results to peer review, with input from that review addressed in final products (revising draft results as needed and otherwise including reviewer comments).
    c. Maintenance of a comments section on the Global Forest Watch Canada website, so that users can provide input on Global Forest Watch Canada products, and inform audiences of relevant forthcoming or alternative datasets.
6. Building from strengths: Creates products, plans, and relationships that build on those previously or readily available.

Global Forest Watch Canada's Overall Strategic Objectives and Goals

Strategic Objectives:

1. To conduct research, and compile and analyze information on forest stewardship, forest developments, forest condition and trends, and forest standards and laws that regulate forest use in Canada using primarily spatial tools;

2. To communicate, educate and act as a resource of information on forest stewardship, forest developments, forest condition and trends, and forest standards and laws that regulate forest use in Canada -- for civil society, environmental groups, private sector companies, governments, investors, industry analysts and individuals;

3. To act as a network to track the condition and development of Canada's remaining tracts of natural forests;

4. To assist in the improvement of forest management by monitoring and strategically communicating forest-related activities and forest condition and trends.

Program Strategic Goals

1. Valuing natural forest ecosystems
Strategic Context: This goal is intended to emphasize the values of natural forest ecosystems in order to provide a better context for decision making around increases in industrial allocations or industrial tenure over the next 5-10 years, especially in areas that need conservation attention.

Our selected projects would create a richer picture of what is at stake in terms of species survival, ecosystem services and community values for wild forests and probe more deeply the risks and benefits of development decisions.

2. Improving current forest allocation and management approaches
Strategic Context: Our work in this area will illustrate the limitations of current land allocation processes for protecting natural systems and for involving communities, especially First Nations, in meaningful decision making.

Our selected projects will seek to illustrate the “social contract deficit” that results from conventional land-use allocation systems.

3. Sustaining our evolving organization
    a. Ensure a sustainable, efficient, evolving organization that achieves important successes and nurtures its staff, board, funders and partners
    b. Continuously improve communication with and recognition by target audiences (supporters, partners, media, decision-makers, civil society)
    c. Increase the number and diversity of supporters
    d. Increase our capacity to improve forest management decisions by enhancing and diversifying our funding
    e. Continuously improve our financial systems to facilitate effective program delivery
    f. Establish new financial arrangements that support the delivery and mission of GFWC
    g. Ensure a healthy, happy, efficient staff and work environment.