Former Foes Unite for Historic Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement
Some are calling it “the world’s largest conservation agreement.”
On Tuesday, Canada’s leading pulp and paper companies, in unprecedented partnership with nine environmental groups, announced the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, which calls for ground-breaking environmental standards of forest management and conservation, protecting species at risk and action on climate change.
The historic agreement covers more than 72 million hectares of public forests licensed to FPAC member companies across Canada. It specifically recognizes the shared role that governments, industry and environmentalists play in protecting and sustainably managing the Boreal Forest.
From the agreement:
While the future of forestry and conservation in Canada’s Boreal Forest rests primarily with governments, both industry and environmentalists have a shared responsibility to help define and realize that future.
The shared challenge is to address sometimes conflicting social, economic, and environmental imperatives in a way that captures the economic opportunities that are emerging for forest products of the highest environmental quality. The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement sees both parties committed to working together in the marketplace and on the ground to support governments in the realization of a stronger, more competitive forestry industry and a better protected, more sustainably managed Boreal Forest.
For reaction from both the pulp and paper industry and environmental groups –which have agreed to suspend “do not buy” campaigns –see this excellent article from the Canadian Press.
