News
Minister Prentice Welcomes the Signing of the Agreement on Boreal Forest Conservation
OTTAWA (Marketwire) - Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable Jim Prentice, today issued the following statement in support of a Canadian Boreal Conservation Agreement between member companies of the Forest Products Association of Canada and a coalition of several environmental non-governmental organizations:
"As Minister of the Environment, I welcome the signing of this collaborative agreement between forest sector companies and environmental groups, which represents significant progress for the conservation and sustainable use of the boreal forest of Canada. I am pleased that the agreement has goals that will help the federal government to implement our interests related to conservation of species at risk.
"I am particularly encouraged by the commitment to develop world-leading standards for sustainable forest practices to identify protected areas and to support species at risk recovery. These will complement and support our government's work on development and implementation of a recovery strategy for boreal caribou. The achievement of their goal of completing a network of protected areas representative of the diversity of ecosystems in the boreal would be a significant, tangible legacy for future generations of Canadians. And I commend the leadership demonstrated by the forest sector companies to defer most activities within the range of the boreal woodland caribou and to commit to working together with environmental groups to support completion and implementation of government caribou action plans.
"We look forward to working with the parties to the agreement. It will be important to work closely with others who have an interest in the boreal, such as engagement of provincial and territorial governments and Aboriginal people, including consideration of Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge."
More information about the agreement is available on the Web site at the address http://www.canadianborealforestagreement.com/.