FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
GLOBAL CONSERVATION GROUPS
TELL CANADA,
“ACT NOW TO SAVE BOREAL FOREST.”
Ottawa
(5 June 2003) — BirdLife International,
a global alliance of bird and nature conservation
organizations represented in 100 countries worldwide,
is urging Canada to take immediate steps to protect
the boreal forest, one of the world’s largest
intact ecosystems.
“The
Canadian boreal forest is not just of concern to
Canada,” says Julie Gelfand, president of the
Canadian Nature Federation, a partner organization
in BirdLife International. “It’s one of
Earth’s most important wilderness areas, vital
to species and nature on a worldwide scale. Steps
must be taken now to protect it.”
BirdLife’s
warning comes on the heels of a report released
by the Canadian
Boreal Initiative outlining the importance of
Canada’s boreal forest to global biodiversity
and to bird species, which are considered an indicator
of the health of the environment. Canada’s
boreal forest is home to three billion landbirds
and 35 species of waterbirds, including the common
loon. In the past 10 years, nearly a full third
of the Canadian boreal forest has been allocated
to development initiatives.
“Canada has committed to implementation of
the Convention on Biological Diversity forest work
program, adopted in the Hague last year, which calls
for renewed effort for conservation and sustainable
use of forests,” says Peter Herkenrath, Biodiversity
Officer for BirdLife International. “As host
to the Convention secretariat, and as a leading
player in the Convention, Canada must not delay
implementation of its Senate recommendation to protect
at least 20 per cent of the boreal forest—only
8 per cent is currently protected.”
The Canadian Nature Federation and BirdLife International
representatives have outlined steps Canada must
take to conserve the boreal forest, including:
“Land
use planning happening right now will determine
the long-term fate of the boreal forest and the
species that rely upon it,” says Gelfand. “Let’s
grasp the opportunity to plan well, so that Canadian
nature and world biodiversity are protected for
the future.”
-30-
For
more information or to arrange interviews, please
contact:
Deborah Smith
613-233-0730 or 1-800-267-4088
| The
Canadian Nature Federation is a member-based
non-profit nature conservation organization
dedicated to protecting nature, its diversity,
and the processes that sustain it. Our supporters
include over 40,000 individual supporters and
100 affiliated organizations, including local
and provincial naturalist groups. The Canadian
Nature Federation and Bird Studies Canada are
Canadian co-partners in BirdLife International,
a global partnership of conservation organizations
and research institutions that conserve birds,
habitat and global biodiversity. |
NOTES
TO EDITORS:
About
the Canadian Boreal Forest:
Canada’s boreal region covers 53% of the country—more
than one billion acres—spreading over the northern
part of all provinces except PEI, Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick. It stretches from cost to coast.
Along
with the Russian boreal and the Amazon basin, Canada’s
boreal contains all that remains of the world’s
large frontier forests. Its intact area is 50% larger
than the remaining untouched Amazon rain forest.
80%
of the world’s unfrozen freshwater is found
in the boreal region. It is one of the world’s
largest storehouses of carbon, and helps to regulate
the world’s climate. It is home to the world’s
largest populations of bears, wolves and woodland
caribou.
One
in three birds across North America survive thanks
to the boreal forest – as many as five billion
warblers, thrushes, sparrows, hawks, woodpeckers
and other birds.
Land
use planning for the boreal region is now underway
in almost every province and territory.
(facts
courtesy of the Canadian Boreal Initiative)
About
BirdLife International:
BirdLife International is a global partnership of
national non-governmental conservation organizations
working to conserve birds, their habitats and global
biodiversity, and cooperating with people towards
sustainability in the use of natural resources.
BirdLife partners operate in over one hundred countries
and territories worldwide, collaborating on regional
work programs in almost every continent. As Canadian
co-partners of BirdLife International, Bird Studies
Canada (BSC) and the Canadian Nature Federation
(CNF) cooperate the Important
Bird Areas program to identify and conserve
critical bird habitat across Canada. For more information
on BirdLife International, visit www.birdlife.org
BirdLife
International runs the Building on Experience program
to develop the management capabilities of partner
organizations through a series of international
workshops on organizational development issues.
2003 workshops have been held in Slovenia and Australia,
and the current workshop runs for 10 days in Ottawa,
Canada, and is hosted by the Canadian Nature Federation.
In the next four years, each Birdlife partner organization
will be invited to take part in Building on Experience,
thus raising the effectiveness of conservation organizations
worldwide.
