What is the largest intact forest?
boreal forest
The boreal forest is the largest forest in the world, wrapping right around Earth’s entire northern hemisphere like a giant green headband. It acts as the lungs of the planet, producing much of the air we breathe and influencing the world’s climate.
Why do we need to keep the forest intact?
Preserving our planet’s last unbroken swaths of intact forest is one of the most powerful and cost-effective solutions we have to combat the global challenge of climate change. Intact forests also play a crucial role in protecting biodiversity, water supply, and indigenous livelihoods.
How much of the forest is left in the world?
The world has 4.06 billion remaining hectares of forests, according to the recently released key findings of the Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020. Of this area, only about 1.11 billion hectares are primary forests, or native forests that remain largely undisturbed by humans.
What areas of Canada maintain intact forests?
These lands are often directly managed by Indigenous peoples. In Canada, our work is focused on areas including the vast boreal forests and wetlands in northern Ontario (north of 51 degrees latitude) and the northern boreal mountain region of northern BC and southern Yukon.
Is a forest a carbon sink?
Forests can act as either carbon sources or carbon sinks. A forest is considered to be a carbon source if it releases more carbon than it absorbs. A forest is considered to be a carbon sink if it absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. Carbon is absorbed from the atmosphere through photosynthesis.
What animals live in Canada’s boreal forest?
The boreal forest shelters more than 85 species of mammals, including some of the largest and most majestic—wood bison, elk, moose, woodland caribou, grizzly and black bears, and wolves—and smaller species, such as beavers, snowshoe hares, Canada lynx, red squirrels, lemmings, and voles.
How much of Alaska is boreal forest?
The boreal forest or “northern forest” is the world’s largest land-based biome and represents approximately 30% of the world’s forest. In Alaska, the boreal forest or “taiga” exits between the northern Brooks Range down to the southern Coast Range mountains, covering most of Interior Alaska.
Where are the last intact forests in the world?
An alliance that includes countries, NGOs, Indigenous Peoples, and local communities has announced a commitment to protect the 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica —the last remaining intact forests from Mexico to Colombia critical for wildlife, carbon sequestration, clean water, and food security to five million people.
Why is it important to preserve intact forest landscapes?
Conservation of Intact Forest Landscapes is a task of great global significance. New and existing infrastructure development, timber harvesting, and mineral resources extraction project should avoid fragmentation of remaining IFLs. IFLs should be considered when existing protected area networks are revised and expanded.
What is the IUCN motion on intact forests?
The IUCN World Conservation Congress in 2016 adopted a motion ( Motion 048) that “encourages states, the private sector and international financial institutions to: a. avoid loss and degradation of primary forests, including intact forest landscapes; b. promote conservation of primary forests, including intact forest landscapes”.
Who is the Executive Director of Forests Forever?
Forests Forever Executive Director Paul Hughes on Terra Verde on Apr. 5, 2019— A weekly public affairs show that delivers news and views about the most critical environmental issues across California and globally. Read the article. More… No clearcuts in California!