CBFA: a new model of conservation collaboration

Canada’s boreal forest is one of the largest and most ecologically significant ecosystems on the planet and the source of supply for one of Canada’s most significant natural resource sectors. Recognizing this fact, environmental organizations (ENGOs) and forest companies in Canada signed a ground-breaking conservation agreement in May 2010.  The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement (CBFA) is a precedent-setting initiative to demonstrate leadership in developing and implementing a globally significant model for conservation and resource management in Canada’s large boreal landscape, covering over 73 million hectares of managed forests.  Prominent among the six goals of the CBFA are: improved prosperity of the Canadian forest sector and the communities that depend upon it; the completion of a network of protected areas that, taken as a whole, represents the diversity of ecosystems within the Boreal region and serves to protect ecological benchmarks; and development of world-leading forestry practices.  This presentation will discuss how the CBFA is a collaborative model of problem solving involving environmental organizations, industry, governments, First Nations, and affected communities. It will also outlinesome of the challenges, successes, lessons learned and next steps in this unprecedented agreement, including outreach efforts currently underway.