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A new Pew Environment Group report [PDF] confirms the importance of Canada’s Boreal forest in safeguarding public health and the climate. The report details many benefits the 1.2 billion acre forest delivers to human health and wildlife, including protecting freshwater reserves and animal habitat, as well as preventing the effects of global warming. The decades of research behind this study also reveals that the forest’s health is increasingly at risk due to rapid industrial development, namely mining and gas extraction. 

For those unfamiliar with Canada’s Boreal forest, it is recognized as an ecological marvel, boasting half the world’s lakes larger than a square kilometer in size; 5 of the world’s 50 largest rivers; almost 200 million acres of surface water; and the world’s single largest remaining unpolluted fresh water body, Great Bear Lake.

The forest contains 25 percent of the world’s wetlands, and has more surface water than any other continental-scale landscape. It is the most intact and preserved forest on the planet, safeguarding biodiversity and food supplies, and contributing to the culture and history of many nearby communities.

Although it is less well known for its role as a massive carbon sink, the forest plays a vital role in regulating the climate and diminishing the effects from global warming.

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Sometimes, toughing out a difficult relationship can be worth it in the end - as is the case with Greenpeace and tissue giant, Kimberly-Clark.

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The Ontario government announced today that it would permanently protect 225,000 square kilometers of Canada's Far North Boreal region.

That works out to be an area roughly twice the size of England.

"This announcement sets out the most ambitious conservation for the Boreal Forest in Canada," said Janet Sumner of the CPAWS Wildland League.