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Boreal Forest
Information on DUC initiatives in Western Canada's boreal Forest
Pages in this Article
- Summary
- A Rare Opportunity
- The Strategy
- The Urgency
- The Government
- The Partnerships
The Partnerships 
However, it is also through projects such as the proposed pipeline that Canada’s boreal also sustains thousands of jobs and contributes billions to the Canadian economy. The long-term integrity of the boreal region is key to the sustainability and well being of these communities and economies and to the vital ecological goods and services the boreal provides for all Canadians and the global community. DUC recently signed on to the Canada Forest Accord 2003-2008, which commits the organization to applying knowledge, expertise and resources to sustainable forest management, guided by the spirit and intent of Canada’s National Forest Strategy.
“DU Canada will promote and partner in research that examines the effects of natural and human disturbances on wetlands and water by elucidating the relationships between waterfowl, wetland characteristics, and landscape and climatic controls,” says Stewart who has been leading DUC’s efforts in the WBF since 1997. “These findings will result in world-leading management guidelines and protocols that can be used by industry to reduce the effect of industrial activities on water and wetlands, establish new best management principles, and will be used in their forest management, harvest design, and restoration plans.”
And, with such logical plans toward balancing the environment, science and industry through common-sense conservation solutions, perhaps the heaviest words come from the man who has spent so much time weightlessly viewing the Earth.
“It is very important for Canadians in particular to be sensitive to it (the environment), because we happen to live in this huge country,” Garneau said. “If you live in Luxembourg or Holland or Hong Kong, you are sensitive to the fact that there is not much room between you and the next person, but it is very easy for Canadians to be complacent about environmental issues because we are blessed with so much. And so it (the environment) is particularly important for Canadians to be sensitive to and I’m encouraged by Canadians attitudes in that respect.”
Canada has a unique opportunity to show the world how to balance development with protection across one of the world’s last, great wilderness areas. But the key word is unique, for it only comes around once. The time for world-leading best management practices and state-of-the-art conservation planning in Canada’s boreal forest is now.
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