As climate change and biodiversity loss approach a critical point, the Seal River Watershed offers a gift: an opportunity to sustain healthy lands at a sweeping scale. When finalised, the Indigenous Protected Area will be the largest land-based protected area in Canada. It will also support a new model of conservation – one led by and for Indigenous Nations – and contribute to global efforts to sustain biodiversity. It will ensure that habitats and peoples thrive, and thousands of caribou, millions of migratory birds and more are abundant for generations to come.
Read MoreWith the arrival of autumn, between 3 billion to 5 billion birds are preparing to travel from their nesting grounds in the Boreal Forest in Canada to wintering grounds thousands of miles away. This fall is also when the UN Biodiversity Conference, or COP16, will be held in Cali, Colombia. Migrating birds remind us of the interconnectedness of nature, and they link Canada and Colombia–two seemingly disparate places–through their life cycles.
Read MoreSummer in the Boreal Forest means an abundance of berries—blueberries, strawberries, cloudberries, raspberries, bunchberries, and more. These berries help sustain bears, moose, and other animals. People within the over 600 Indigenous communities across the boreal are also nourished by them. Gathering and eating fresh berries has been a source of nutrients and enjoyment for millennia.
Read MoreEfforts to conserve the Boreal Forest in Canada saw several breakthroughs in 2023, from a visionary initiative that will sustain vast lands and communities in the Northwest Territories to a dramatic growth in the number of Indigenous Guardians programs stewarding lands and waters.
Read MoreOver time, the critical mass of dozens of land use plans and protected area initiatives emerging across the Boreal Forest has leveraged a national focus on Indigenous Protected Areas, managed by Indigenous Guardians. This effort has ripened into a new, 21st Century approach to conservation of biodiversity, an Indigenous-led conservation system that is rapidly advancing across Canada.
Read MoreCOP15 is also our chance to do something big – to not only talk about protections, but take action and truly protect global biodiversity on the massive scale that is still possible because we have intact places like the Boreal Forest.
Read More“The public views the post-pandemic recovery as an opportunity for positive change, and they clearly want nature protection and Indigenous-led conservation be a part of our rebuilding of a better Canada."
Read MoreSweeping stretches of the Boreal Forest gained protection this year thanks to the leadership of Indigenous Nations. And the future looks even brighter. As Canada prepares to meet 2020 conservation targets and commit to new goals for 2030, the Indigenous-led proposals advanced this year will set Canada on a path to international leadership.
Read MoreThe effort to conserve the world’s largest intact forest gained new ground this year. Progress stretching from the Northwest Territories to Ottawa helped ensure Canada’s Boreal Forest will continue to sustain animals and plants, clean waters and communities for years to come.
Read MoreA vast network of wetlands teems with new life each year in the boreal forest. From the Yukon to Newfoundland, millions of ducklings hatch in the boreal and open their eyes to bountiful surroundings.
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