A giant traveling map of the boreal forest arrived at the Prince Albert Forest Centre today as part of an educational campaign about the economic and environmental importance of the boreal forest.

The giant floor map measures 8 x 11 metres and is being used to showcase the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement.

The map illustrates the boreal forest, caribou habitat, forestry industries and the communities that rely on them for jobs, and the areas where the agreement applies.

It’s the centerpiece of a program to educate school children and the public about the importance of the boreal forest.

The agreement, which was signed in May 2010, includes seven environmental organizations, the Forest Products Association of Canada, its 18 member companies, and Kruger Inc.  It directly applies to more than 73 million hectares across the country. It is also being called a “globally significant precedent” that seeks to conserve significant areas of Canada’s vast boreal forest, protect threatened woodland caribou and sustain a healthy forest sector.

CBFA executive director Aran O’Carroll says the map is part of a larger effort to educate people about the initiative:

“But we need to engage Canadians in this initiative because we need their support.  Canada’s boreal forest is primarily public lands, and so we need the support of the First Nations communities that are in those forests, as well as the local communities that are reliant on the forest industries, to support the idea of finding collaborative solutions to some of the environmental challenges that management of the boreal forest present.”

According to a CBFA release, “The agreement acknowledges that governments are the final authority and that legal responsibility and authority for the management and conservation of the boreal forest rests with them.  The agreement also acknowledges that Aboriginal peoples and their governments have treaty rights and title in, as well as, legitimate interests and aspirations in the boreal forest and that successful implementation of the agreement requires the effective involvement of Aboriginal peoples and their governments”.