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Commonwealth NGOs
related to forestry | | |
 National Aboriginal Forestry Association
396 Cooper Street
Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
Email:
Website: www.nafaforestry.org/
Type: NGO
Scope: national
Interest in Forestry: central
Description
Our Mission: To promote and support increased Aboriginal involvement in forest management and
related commercial opportunities, while staying committed to holistic or multiple-use forestry, to
build sustainable Aboriginal communities.
Background: The creation of a National Aboriginal forestry organization was called for at the
landmark conference on Native forestry, entitled the National Native Forestry Symposium - Ethic To
Reality. The conference was held in Vancouver, November 22-24, 1989, and was attended by some 450 delegates.
At the conference, there was a consensus of support from the delegates in favour
of establishing a national organization to promote forestry as a necessary condition for Aboriginal
economic development, the repair of environment degradation, and the restoration of cultural and
community spiritual health for Aboriginal people across the country.
Objectives: The overall goal of NAFA is to promote and support increased Aboriginal involvement in forest
management and related commercial opportunities. In the working toward this goal,
NAFA is committed to holistic or multiple-use forestry, which implies the rebuilding and the sustainable
development of the forest resource to serve a multitude of community needs, among those being
the protection of wildlife and traditional food stuff habitat, protection of fur bearers, protection
of clean and adequate supplies of water, establishment of forested areas for recreation and tourism
attractions, traditional cultural and spiritual use, as well as the production of fibre for timber,
pulp and paper and other wood by-products. Key to the concept of holistic forestry is the idea of
community based strategies for transforming this resource ethic into reality.
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