Yesterday (April 17), Canopy announced its departure from the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA).
Canopy’s departure from the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) is another sign that the Agreement is clearly not working. Greenpeace announced its exit back in December 2012.
Canopy is a highly respected organization that has transformed the publishing industry in North America with effective and collaborative partnerships with hundreds of corporations. Their departure from the CBFA is a consequence of the Agreement’s inability to deliver greater protection for the Boreal Forest and a failure of its structure. The CBFA is simply no longer a credible tool for conservation.
The best judge of the Agreement’s success is whether it has achieved the positive change in the forest it promised the world.
Unfortunately, the Agreement has failed to produce consensus on a single hectare of legislated protection in the Boreal Forest.
Large protected areas buffered by conservations zones totaling 50 to 70 per cent of the land base are required to maintain low risk to biodiversity and ecological functions. This means tens of millions of new hectares of protected areas must be created across Canada.
Canopy’s announcement reinforces that new solutions for the Boreal Forest, other than the CBFA, are required. Currently, critical caribou habitat and Canada’s Endangered Forests remain at risk due to destructive logging and road building. One of the most urgent and promising places needing action is the Broadback Valley Endangered Forest, where several Cree First Nations are fighting to protect their traditional territory. Take action to save the Broadback.