Canada Urged to Protect Wilderness
12/1/99
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Title: CANADA Urged to Protect Wilderness
Source: Environment News Service, http://www.ens.lycos.com/
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: December 1, 1999
TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, December 1, 1999 (ENS) - With new data
indicating that Canadian wilderness is being logged at a rate of one
acre every 13 seconds, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada urged the
country's First Ministers Tuesday to act decisively to protect 43
million acres of wilderness by Canada Day, 2000.
"The challenge rests squarely with the political leadership of this
country," said WWF Canada President Monte Hummel at the conclusion of
a two-day meeting in Toronto of WWF's Endangered Spaces regional
coordinators. "The 43.2 million acres we're asking the First
Ministers to deliver amount to roughly 1.5 acres per Canadian. This
is not an unreasonable amount of land to ensure that wilderness is
protected for future generations," Hummel said.
Since 1990, WWF Canada has been negotiating for protection of
Canada's wilderness areas with senior governments and resource
industries. In 1992, all senior governments in Canada signed the
Tri-Council Statement of Commitment, which set the course for
preserving a network of wilderness spaces in more than 450 natural
regions across the country. The WWF-sponsored Endangered Spaces
Campaign was organized to ensure that government commitments would be
met thus improving prospects for a healthy environment and economy.
Hummel described the 43 million-acre goal as "dramatic, but within
reach." He said recent gains in Ontario and Manitoba -- where, in
total, more than 8 million acres were protected earlier this year
following intense negotiations -- illustrate how progress is
achievable when conservation groups work closely with governments,
community groups, and business interests.
"I've seen what can be accomplished around a cabinet table when
people roll up their sleeves and commit to a common goal," said
former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner. "And I truly believe the
will exists at senior levels of government to meet our Endangered
Spaces targets. But urgent situations -- which I believe this to be -
- demand boldness and political determination."