Boreal Forest
The Boreal Forest © Greenpeace
Greenpeace opposes the destructive practices of the logging industry in Canada’s Boreal Forest and works to protect the country’s largest ecosystem.
To end destructive practices, Greenpeace has played a leading role in the development of the historic Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement. The Agreement, between nine leading environmental organizations and forest companies in the Forest Products Association of Canada, includes an immediate moratorium on logging in 28 million hectares of the Boreal Forest, including virtually all the critical habitat of the threatened woodland caribou.
Unsustainable logging and political inaction are threatening the Boreal Forest, one of the largest tracts of ancient forest on the planet. Across Canada, there are crisis zones where individual forests are at high risk of being ruined beyond repair. One of the major threats to the forest is clearcutting for disposable paper products. Greenpeace is working to stop this practice, which wipes out intact wilderness and trashes the habitat of threatened wildlife, such as the endangered woodland caribou.
Almost 80 per cent of the Earth’s original forests have been degraded or destroyed. The Boreal Forest is invaluable to the planet as it helps stabilize the climate by storing massive amounts of carbon. More than half of Canada’s landmass, the Boreal Forest sustains countless plants and animals, and is the source of life and culture for many indigenous communities.
How Greenpeace works to save the Boreal Forest
- Challenging the marketplace: We expose the destructive practices of logging companies that can and should operate in a more sustainable manner. We also target paper giants and companies with significant purchasing power.
- Engaging consumers: We mobilize Canadians against companies that are attacking the forest. We provide consumers with information on purchases that will reduce the impact on the forest.
- Pressuring governments: We hold provincial governments to their promises to protect the forest. We urge them to do more to protect the endangered caribou that call the Boreal Forest home.
- Working with industry: We collaborate with leaders in the forestry sector, and with governments, to ensure the creation of long-term, sustainable jobs.