Bowater Obtains ISO 14001 Certification for Woodlands in Quebec.

Business Editors

GREENVILLE, S.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 19, 2002

Bowater Incorporated (NYSE: BOW) announced today that its woodlands operations in the Lac-Saint-Jean area in Quebec have received ISO 14001 registration for the company's environmental management system (EMS), which covers all forest management activities on public lands totaling 1.23 million hectares (3 million acres). The Lac-Saint-Jean woodlands operations supply logs to Bowater's three sawmills, located in Mistassini, St-Felicien and Girardville.

The implementation of the independently certified EMS confirms that Bowater's forest management activities meet national and international standards for sustainability. The ISO 14001 standards were developed by the International Standardization Organization. The Lac-Saint-Jean woodlands operations successfully received a third-party audit by the Quality Management Institute (QMI), the ISO's main registration firm in North America. Additionally, Bowater's forest activities for the region are in compliance with the Canadian Council of Ministries of Forest to achieve sustainable forest management. The company expects all of its Canadian forestry operations to be under ISO registry by the middle of 2003.

Bowater Incorporated, headquartered in Greenville, S.C., is a global leader in newsprint. In addition, the company makes coated and uncoated groundwood papers, bleached kraft pulp and lumber products. The company has 12 pulp and paper mills in the United States, Canada and South Korea and 13 North American sawmills that produce softwood and hardwood lumber. Bowater also operates a facility that converts a groundwood base sheet to coated products. Bowater's operations are supported by approximately 1.5 million acres of timberlands owned or leased in the United States and Canada and 33 million acres of timber cutting rights in Canada. Bowater is one of the world's largest consumers of recycled newspapers and magazines. Bowater common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, U.S. regional exchanges and the London Stock Exchange. A special class of stock exchangeable into Bowater common stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE: BWX).

Statements in this news release that are not reported financial results or other historical information are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. They include, for example, statements about our business outlook, assessment of market conditions, strategies, future plans, future sales, prices for our major products, inventory levels, capital spending and tax rates. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. They are based on management's expectations that involve a number of business risks and uncertainties, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by the forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statements in this news release include those described under the caption "Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information" in Bowater's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2000, and from time to time, in Bowater's other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.