Greenpeace releases 'Boreal Alarm' report, calls for immediate suspension of logging in five forests it has identified as endangered in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba, advises wood product buyers to check supply chains

Wendy Lisney

Wendy Lisney

TORONTO , January 16, 2013 (press release) – Today, Greenpeace draws the line in the sand with the release of the “Boreal Alarm”, a report identifying five endangered Boreal forest areas that require immediate conservation planning and protection. Greenpeace is calling for the immediate suspension of logging in these forests of Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba and is advising wood products customers to check their supply chain to ensure they are not sourcing from these forests.

Five Endangered Forests in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba are identified as being under a significant level of threat and must be prioritized for protection immediately. These areas supply forest products to the global marketplace.

“These Endangered Forest Areas are critical for maintaining healthy woodland caribou and biodiversity and are at immediate risk of destruction,” says Catharine Grant, Greenpeace Canada forest campaigner. “Without an effective vehicle for Boreal forest protection, these areas are open to logging with little or no protection yet are of significant social and cultural value.”

To accompany the report, Greenpeace has upgraded and updated its Boreal webpage with a new section allowing you to learn more about each of the Endangered Forests and actions you can take to help protect them.

In the report entitled “Boreal Alarm: A wake up call for action in Canada’s Endangered Forests”, five Endangered Forest Areas are identified as ecologically significant along with the logging and management companies and mills operating within them. Resolute Forest Products, a company recently exposed for logging in critical caribou habitat, is active in three of the five zones, including the Montagnes Blanches and Trout Lake-Caribou Forests. Ask Resolute CEO Richard Garneau to stop logging immediately in endangered forest areas and important caribou habitat.

Necessary steps are outlined for logging companies, customers of forest products and governments to ensure a sustainable and prosperous forest sector and healthy communities and ecosystems. These include respecting indigenous rights and title, suspending logging in these areas, and completing conservation plans based on independent science.

The Endangered Forest Areas are Quebec’s Broadback Valley and Montagnes Blanches forests, the Kenogami-Ogoki and the Trout Lake-Caribou forests in Ontario, and the Boreal Gem in central Manitoba. These regions are actively being logged and the majority currently have less than 10% protection. These forests were identified using conservation science, the best mapping tools and satellite data.

“Logging companies need to suspend logging in identified High Conservation Value areas in the Boreal Forest, prioritizing the Endangered Forest areas,” says Grant. “The market for green wood products is growing and will recognize companies that don’t just talk about sustainability but act to protect the forest.”

In late 2012, Greenpeace left the failed Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement after an investigation revealed Resolute forest products was responsible for logging in the Agreement’s off-limit areas and the Agreement’s failure to produce consensus on a single hectare of protection more than two and a half years into the three year agreement.

Around the world, Greenpeace has a proven track record for successful collaboration with companies based upon strong work plans and the respect of Indigenous people’s rights and title. Ongoing collaborations with companies in Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, Brazil’s Amazon and Indonesia have all reduced the threat to forests globally.

* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.

Share:

About Us

We deliver market news & information relevant to your business.

We monitor all your market drivers.

We aggregate, curate, filter and map your specific needs.

We deliver the right information to the right person at the right time.

Our Contacts

1990 S Bundy Dr. Suite #380,
Los Angeles, CA 90025

+1 (310) 553 0008

About Cookies On This Site

We collect data, including through use of cookies and similar technology ("cookies") that enchance the online experience. By clicking "I agree", you agree to our cookies, agree to bound by our Terms of Use, and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. For more information on our data practices and how to exercise your privacy rights, please see our Privacy Policy.