Media Centre

Press Releases

2009

Obama visit - carbon, climate and Canada's greatest potential contribution: Boreal Forest protection

February 18 , 2009 - Ottawa: It’s clear that carbon and climate will be a focus of President Obama’s Canada visit on Thursday.  The media’s carbon focus, so far, has been on Canada’s tar sands and potential North American cap and trade agreements.  
 
But, Canada’s most unique and important international contribution on the carbon and climate front, driven by the world’s leading climate scientists, has yet to be duly recognized.  

Prime Minister Harper and the provinces of Ontario and Quebec deserve to be congratulated for their commitments to keep in place vast stores of carbon and maintain biodiversity by protecting large regions of Canada’s Boreal Forest.  Canadian governments should be encouraged to continue to work towards recommendations by the world’s top climate scientists to protect at least half of Canada’s Boreal Forest.
 
President Obama responding to a question about the tar sands in a CBC interview yesterday referenced carbon sequestration and other technological fixes – approaches that are largely unproven.
 
But climate scientists recommend that the most conservative approach towards controlling climate change points to the most effective option immediately within our control — increased Boreal Forest conservation.  Renowned climate scientist James E. Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, highlighted this point in a commentary today. (President’s Trip to Canada Defines Critical Carbon Moment)

For further comment, please contact:
Suzanne Fraser
Director of communications
Canadian Boreal Initiative
613.232-2530
sfraser <at> borealcanada ca

 
Background:  

Canada’s Boreal Forest plays a unique role in the global carbon equation. Stretching across northern Canada, the Boreal Forest stores more carbon per acre than any other ecosystem on earth and is the world’s largest terrestrial carbon storehouse.
 
Carbon is stored in the Boreal Forest’s trees, lakes, and soils.  Industrial disturbance in the Boreal Forest exacerbates climate change by releasing additional carbon when the forest or its soils are disturbed.  The more we disturb our Boreal Forest with increased industrial activity, the more stored carbon is released.  
 
Over 1,500 international scientists led by Nobel Prize winning authors for the International Panel on Climate Change have recommended that at least half of Canada’s Boreal Forest be protected.   
 
Scientists worldwide recognize that Canada’s Boreal Forest is one of largest, most intact old-growth forests left on Earth.  Rivaling the Amazon Rainforest in size and ecological value, the Boreal Forest provides globally-important, irreplaceable ecosystem services. In addition to tremendous carbon sequestration and storage capacity, these include vast reserves of fresh water, the world’s most extensive wetlands, and habitat for enormous, healthy populations of wildlife, including internationally important migratory waterfowl, songbirds and caribou.  
 
There has been much recent progress in parts of Canada to increase protections of the Boreal region with commitments to protect tens of millions of acres from industrial disturbance.  These are some of the largest conservation commitments in world history.  
 
Prime Minister Harper has been instrumental in the protection of tens of millions of acres of Boreal Forest in Canada’s Northwest Territories.  In addition to aiding in climate protection, these protections have included some of the world’s largest, new national parks.  
 
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty recently promised to permanently protect 55 million acres of Boreal Forest.   
This commitment was largely motivated by the opportunity to protect the forest’s enormous stores of carbon. Quebec Premier Jean Charest recently set a similar goal for his province.

There is still a long way to go to reach the recommendation to protect at least half of Canada’s Boreal Forest.  Currently, only approximately 12% is permanently protected.  Canada also faces significant challenges in controlling its greenhouse gas emissions and contributing positively to meaningful, international solutions to reduce emissions.  
 
But, recent commitments to protect the Boreal Forest’s vast carbon reserves are a significant contribution to guarding against climate change.  Canada should be encouraged to move forward in the future to set aside of Canada’s Boreal Forest as recommended by the international scientific community.  


MAPS OF BOREAL FOREST CARBON AND PLANNED PROTECTED AREAS:  
 
Map of the Boreal Forest in Comparison to Yellowstone National Park:
http://www.interboreal.org/images/maps/map-frontier-yellowstone.gif

Maps Displaying the Importance of the Boreal Forest as a Carbon Storehouse:
http://www.interboreal.org/globalwarming/#maps

Map of Protected Areas in the Northwest Territories:
http://www.borealbirds.org/images/map-nwt-protectedareas-sm.jpg

Map of Northern Ontario’s Boreal Forest, of Which 50% Will Be Permanently Protected:
http://www.interboreal.org/images/ontarioprotectionmap.gif

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND RESOURCES:
 
Factsheet on Canada’s Boreal Forest as a Shield Against Global Warming
Letter From 1,500 Scientists Recommending Protection for at Least Half of Canada’s Vast Boreal Forest