The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework, was adopted December 1, 2003 to protect the Canadian boreal forest. The vision set out in the Framework is "to sustain the ecological and cultural integrity of the Canadian boreal region, in perpetuity." Its goal is to conserve

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 the boreal region by: "protecting at least 50% of the region in a network of large interconnected protected areas, and supporting sustainable

Sustainability

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

 communities through world-leading ecosystem

Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....

-based resource management practices and leading edge stewardship practices in the remaining landscape."

Purpose of framework

Canada's boreal biome

Biome

Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms, and are often referred to as ecosystems. Some parts of the earth have more or less the same kind of abiotic and biotic factors spread over a...

 comprises forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

, wetlands, mountains, rivers and lakes. It is still largely intact ecologically; along with the Amazon Rainforest

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...

 and Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

n Taiga

Taiga

Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...

, it is one of the Earth's largest remaining intact wilderness

Wilderness

Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...

 regions. Abundant wildlife

Wildlife

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....

, including some of the world's largest populations of caribou, bears, wolves and lynx

Lynx

A lynx is any of the four Lynx genus species of medium-sized wildcats. The name "lynx" originated in Middle English via Latin from Greek word "λύγξ", derived from the Indo-European root "*leuk-", meaning "light, brightness", in reference to the luminescence of its reflective eyes...

 are present here. It provides the summer range for one third of North America's songbirds and three fourths of its waterfowl

Waterfowl

Waterfowl are certain wildfowl of the order Anseriformes, especially members of the family Anatidae, which includes ducks, geese, and swans....

.

The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework promotes conservation of the entire boreal region. This is critical to achieving the sustainability and well-being of communities that rely on it, and preserve its ecological values. If the framework is acted upon, it will position Canada as a world leader in forest and wetlands conservation and management.

The Framework supports the spirit of a 1999 report of the Canadian Senate that recommended the following goals:

• a long-range goal for the boreal of 20% in strict protected areas,
• 60% in conservation areas where maintaining ecological values was the primary goal, and
• 20% in intensive development.

The Framework simplifies the Senate

Canadian Senate

The Senate of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the House of Commons, and the monarch . The Senate consists of 105 members appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister...

 recommendation by redistributing the 60% identified for conservation equally between the protected areas other conservation areas. This allows for greater flexibility in decision-making with respect to protected areas. It also recognizes that to become truly sustainable, better land use practices will be needed in the connective lands and waters of the boreal between protected areas.

The need for conservation planning

This approach to large-scale conservation planning is supported by recent research in conservation biology

Conservation biology

Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...

 and landscape ecology

Landscape ecology

Landscape ecology is the science of studying and improving relationships between urban development and ecological processes in the environment and particular ecosystems...

. Avoiding the effects of habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...

 on wildlife populations requires conservation of at least 30-50% of original habitat

Habitat (ecology)

A habitat is an ecological or environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism...

. However, maintaining all ecological functions, natural services and cultural values will likely require conservation of significantly more than 50% of a landscape. This highlights the importance of protection and careful management of the remaining lands and waters. Moreover, given the importance of large-scale natural disturbances (such as fires) to ecosystem function of the boreal forest, planning must occur over very large areas.

External links

• The Boreal Forest Conservation Framework Canadian Boreal Initiative, www.borealcanada.ca.
• Boreal Songbird Initiative
• The Spiritual Ecology of the Boreal Forest The Earth Vision project, www.evsite.net.