Now is the time for large-scale forest conservation in Manitoba

The participation of the international scientific community has played an integral role in raising awareness on the global importance of Canada’s Boreal forest and in supporting its protection.

Around 1,500 scientists from around the world have already endorsed the need to protect at least half of the Boreal forest from development. Modern conservation science contends this threshold of protection is necessary to preserve the biodiversity and ecological functions supported by the Boreal forest over the long term.

Two provinces, Ontario and Quebec, have since introduced policies that would protect at least 50% of their northern Boreal regions. Once fully implemented, these would set aside more than 200 million acres (81 million hectares) from development while still permitting sustainable development elsewhere.

Manitoba has made great strides in recent years in conserving and sustainably managing large tracts of its Boreal forest, but it remains to be seen whether or not it will embrace this broader target of 50% under protection.

Please consider adding your name to the letter below to underscore this historic opportunity Manitoba has to become a world-leader on forest conservation.

Thank you,

Dr. Jeff Wells
Senior Scientist, International Boreal Conservation Campaign

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Text of letter to the Premier of Manitoba and Minister of Conservation and Water Stewardship:

We write to you to thank you for your many efforts towards the conservation of Manitoba’s Boreal forests, and to congratulate you on the launch of a Boreal planning process at the Boreal Summit in Opaskwayak Cree Nation on February 17.  We hope to provide some advice and encouragement as you proceed in your efforts to balance protection and sustainable development in Manitoba’s Boreal forests.

In a letter sent in May 2007, 1,500 scientists from more than 50 countries around the world asked Canadian leaders to ensure the protection of at least 50% of Canada’s Boreal forest. Since making this appeal, we have followed the many steps forward made across the country with keen interest.

We are impressed by Manitoba’s Green Plan, Tomorrow Now, launched in 2012, its eight-year vision to make Manitoba one of the most sustainable places to live on Earth, and its commitment to the long-term protection and sustainable development of the Boreal region in Manitoba.

In Manitoba, 100 to 300 million birds representing more than 250 species breed within the province’s Boreal “bird nursery,”—more than three-quarters of the Boreal bird species of North America.^1,2 With its abundance of wetlands and lakes, this region accounts for approximately 20 percent of the total breeding-season waterfowl found in Canada’s western Boreal forest region, with an estimated 1.6 million waterfowl breeding in Manitoba’s Boreal forest region each year.

Manitoba’s Boreal also contains some of the most robust remaining herds of the iconic Boreal woodland caribou; six of Manitoba’s 13 ranges have been found to be likely self-sustaining, and eight of those ranges still maintain greater than 65 percent of undisturbed caribou habitat³—the threshold determined by the latest science to be necessary for most herds to survive over the long term.⁴

The province’s intricate freshwater wetland complexes provide filtration and absorption that mitigate the severity of flood events. Wetlands such as those found within the Boreal in Manitoba retain up to 87 percent of the nitrogen and 95 percent of the phosphorous, two of the most prominent and ecologically damaging water contaminants, flowing through them.^5,6 Canadian Boreal wetlands and peatlands have been estimated to provide the equivalent of $39 billion in water filtration services annually.⁷ These ecological services provide great benefits to water bodies such as Lake Winnipeg as it struggles to recover from past and present abuses.

Preservation of treasured ecological values becomes increasingly important as we anticipate a future of growing climate uncertainty. Given the relative intactness of Manitoba’s Boreal forest and the prominence of peatlands throughout, the forest is estimated to store a minimum of 19 billion tonnes of carbon⁸—equivalent to nearly 1,000 years worth of Manitoba’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.⁹

The government of Manitoba has demonstrated its commitment to environmental leadership around caribou in announcing its Boreal Woodland Caribou Recovery Plan in 2014, its partnership with First Nations and subsequent World Heritage Site nomination of Pimachiowin Aki, and its commitment to working with northern communities and First Nations on a long-term plan for the Boreal forest.

The relatively intact state of Manitoba’s northern Boreal region provides an opportunity to implement conservation strategies to protect the region's ecological integrity. The field of conservation biology identifies four objectives that must be achieved to ensure the long-term viability of an ecosystem:^10,11

1. All native ecosystem types must be represented in protected areas;
2. Populations of all native species must be maintained in natural patterns of abundance and distribution;
3. Ecological processes such as hydrological processes must be maintained; and
4. Resilience to short-term and long-term environmental changes must be maintained. Achieving these objectives requires an extensive, interconnected network of protected areas and sustainable management of the surrounding areas.

Reviews of previous conservation planning initiatives provide further direction by indicating that protected areas should cover in the range of half of the landscape to achieve the objectives listed above.

We, the undersigned scientists, encourage you to embrace these scientific principles in policy, securing Manitoba’s status as a leader in conservation and sustainable development of its northern resources. In turn, we commit to work with you and with the research organizations, Aboriginal Peoples, local communities, various sector stakeholders, conservation groups, and businesses of Manitoba’s Boreal region to help realize this vision.

We urge you to empower the governments, businesses, individuals, groups, and communities who will shepherd this process through. We ask that this is done in a manner that fully engages and empowers the communities in these regions, especially Aboriginal Peoples, in a manner that respects their knowledge, their relationships, and their rights.

By planning for northern prosperity, setting guidelines for sustainable development, and protecting at least half of the province’s Boreal, Manitoba will join other jurisdictions in making Canada a leader in sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, and help combat climate change in a manner that will set the standard for countries around the world.

Sincerely, 

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