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CBI welcomes addition of Atikaki-Woodland Caribou Wilderness Area to list of proposed UNESCO World Heritage Sites

May 4, 2004 - Ottawa

The CBI welcomes the move by the Government of Canada to propose that a series of linked boreal wilderness lands in Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Manitoba be considered for World Heritage Site designation. The proposed site, also recently named a "biogem" by the National Resources Defence Council, includes the traditional territory of one of the signatories to the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework -- the Poplar River First Nation.

The lands are the traditional home of the Ojibway people, as well as one of the last strongholds for woodland caribou (threatened nationally in Canada) and wolverine (vulnerable nationally) in Ontario and Manitoba. The Poplar River First Nation, with three neighbouring First Nations, was instrumental in developing the proposal for World Heritage Site designation.

The four neighbouring First Nations have developed an agreement about these lands. The essence of the agreement is that they will take a lead role in ensuring that their respective traditional territories are managed through community-based land-use planning and local First Nation stewardship rooted in Aboriginal custom, and through innovative partnerships with governments and conservation groups.

"The conservation-based approach of the Poplar River First Nation and its partners in the heart of Canada's boreal forest region is one of the inspirations for our work on the Boreal Forest Conservation Framework. This is the type of innovative approach that will help to meet the Framework's goal of ensuring the permanent conservation of Canada's boreal forest region," says CBI Director Cathy Wilkinson.

For more background information about the proposed World Heritage Site, visit Poplar River First Nation, www.savebiogems.org/boreal, www.wildlandsleague.org, www.manitobawildlands.org.

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