Huge conservation announcement in Ontario is a beacon to governments on how to use forests to mitigate climate change!

The Ontario government accounced today that it would begin a land use planning process to protect more than 225,000 square kilometres of northern boreal forest!

I invite my blog readers to share if they know of a more ambitious conservation commitment anywhere!

The government media release states that "the forests and peat lands in the Far North store about 97 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide and absorb around 12.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year," and that "Priority will be given to protect lands with key ecological features such as habitat for endangered species or important carbon sinks."

This is a brilliant beacon to every other government in Canada and the World considering what their approach to using forests to fight climate change should be. Massive-scale protection of carbon rich ecosystems will bring greater climate change mitigation benefits than any tinkering around with faster growing trees and forest offset projects!

Photo credit: CPAWS-Wildlands League

Resources:
Government of Ontario announcement
YouTube video from Ontario government
Media release from CPAWS-Wildlands League
Media release from SNAP-Quebec

Media coverage:
Globe and Mail article
Globe and Mail editorial
Toronto Star article
Toronto Star article II
Toronto Star article III, from First Nations perspective
Toronto Star editorial
New York Times article