VICTORY!

***********************************************

FOREST CONSERVATION NEWS TODAY

Canada to Create 10 Enormous New National Parks

***********************************************

Forest Networking a Project of Forests.org, Inc.

http://forests.org/ -- Forest Conservation Portal

http://www.EnvironmentalSustainability.info/ -- Eco-Portal

http://www.ClimateArk.org/ -- Climate Change Portal

October 6, 2002

OVERVIEW & COMMENTARY by Forests.org

In a stunning conservation victory, Canada has announced plans to

create 10 huge new national parks, and 5 marine conservation areas,

which would nearly double the nation’s protected area system.  Only

three weeks ago, the government had hinted it would increase its

protected areas by 50%.  The announcement that now protected areas

will effectively be doubled may in small part be because of the

several thousand emails Forests.org’s network participants have

generated to the Canadian Prime Minister in the last month.  There is

nothing like a leader looking for a legacy to spur conservation

investments.  Should Prime Minister Jean Chretien follow through on

commitments to adopt the Kyoto Protocol, establish new protected

areas, and adequately fund exiting and planned protected areas; he

will go down as an environmental hero. 

Earlier reservations regarding the need to maintain the majority of a

given primary forest landscape’s ecosystems in an intact condition if

upscale sustainability is to be achieved still remain

(http://forests.org/recent/2002/needmore.htm).  This announcement

does not guarantee Canadian ecosystem and biodiversity

sustainability.  However, this announcement goes well beyond a solid

first step and Canada and its new found conservation leadership

should be acknowledged.  Follow through is now key - enact Kyoto and

continue to protect large forests from industrial development by

granting them well-funded protected status, and Canada will have

eclipsed its ecologically negligent neighbor several times over.

g.b.

*******************************

RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:

Title:  Canada to create 10 enormous new national parks

Source:  Copyright 2002 Reuters

Date:  October 4, 2002

Byline:  David Ljunggren, Reuters

OTTAWA — Canada said Thursday it planned to create 10 huge new

national parks and five marine conservation areas over the next five

years to protect unique landscapes and animals in the world's second-

largest country.

The total area covered by the 10 new parks will be around 39,000

square miles (100,000 square km), almost doubling the area occupied

by the existing 39 national parks.

"Canada is blessed with exceptional natural treasures. We owe it to

Canadians and to the world to be wise stewards of these lands and

waters," Prime Minister Jean Chretien said in a speech to mark the

announcement.

Chretien and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps said Ottawa also would do

more to improve the existing system of parks, which critics say are

suffering from a lack of funding.

Copps said Thursday's announcement was the most ambitious plan to

expand the national parks system since the first park was established

at Banff in 1885. The price tag will be revealed in the next federal

budget in February 2003.

"National parks are in our hearts. They are important to our identity

as Canadians. With this far-reaching plan, we are fulfilling a

Canadian dream," said Copps.

Sites for seven of the new parks have been identified:

· the Gulf Islands in the western province of British Columbia, one

of Canada's most biologically diverse and endangered natural regions

· Ukkusiksalik in the vast Arctic territory of Nunavut, home to polar

bears, caribou, peregrine falcons, and muskoxen

· the Torngat Mountains in the remote Atlantic region of Labrador, an

area known for its mountains, fiords, polar bears, and caribou

· the Mealy Mountains in Labrador, which feature upland bogs, boreal

forests, and wild rivers

· the Lowland forests in the prairie province of Manitoba, home to

the longest sand spit in the country as well as rare bat caves and

fresh-water marshes

· Bathurst Island in Nunavut, which is a major calving ground for the

Peary caribou

· the East Arm of Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories,

featuring spectacular cliffs and populations of moose, bear, and

wolf.

Parks Canada is still identifying sites for the three remaining

parks.

The marine conservation areas will be created in the Gwaii Haanas

islands in British Columbia, in western Lake Superior, in the

Southern Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, and two other as yet

unidentified sites.

The nonprofit Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society welcomed the

government's announcement but said Ottawa needed to put more money

into the parks system. "It is clear that parks will not be stablished

nor will the declining health of existing national parks be addressed

without money committed to the cause," said society vice president

Harvey Locke.

In 2000, an independent panel appointed by Copps recommended that

C$328 million (US$206 million) be invested over five years to restore

the ecological integrity of existing parks.

###RELAYED TEXT ENDS###

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is

distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior

interest in receiving forest conservation informational materials

for educational, personal and non-commercial use only.  Recipients

should seek permission from the source to reprint this PHOTOCOPY.

All efforts are made to provide accurate, timely pieces, though

ultimate responsibility for verifying all information rests with the

reader.  For additional forest conservation news & information please

see the Forest Conservation Portal at URL= http://forests.org/

Networked by Forests.org, Inc., gbarry@forests.org