This week at "The Global Importance of the Boreal Forest: Migratory Birds and the Paper Industry" conference of the Taiga Rescue Network, World Resources Institute and its partners in Global Forest Watch released three reports featuring detailed forest frontier maps of Alaska, Canada, and the Russian Far East.

In an effort to better track the influence of human activities on the forests of Alaska and Canada and in the tiger habitats of the Russian Far East, a research consortium of non-governmental organizations has analyzed thousands of satellite images and other data to produce maps of intact borders, forest ecology, ownership, fires, and protected areas. Results have also been verified using low-level aircraft photography and field observations.

The dissemination of these maps will hopefully encourage improved forest management practices, the preservation of remaining unfragmented forest landscapes, and also facilitate certification processes that provide for the sustainable use of forest resources. Several major companies, including IKEA and Bank of America, have already adopted policies that relate to intact forest ecosystems and which require maps for their implementation. "If you don't map it, you can't manage it," stated Dmitry Aksenov of Global Forest Watch Russia. "Our maps allow forest companies to translate their policies into field operations."

Full publications:

Mapping Undisturbed Landscapes in Alaska

Canada's Large Intact Forest Landscapes and Canada's Forest Landscape Fragments

Mapping High Conservation Value Forests of Primorsky Kray, Russian Far East

All three publications and a full press release can be accessed through the WRI website at http://newsroom.wri.org/newsrelease_text.cfm?NewsReleaseID=366.

RELATED LINKS:

Global Forest Watch

EarthTrends 'Forest Extent' indicators

Fragmenting Forests: The Loss of Large Frontier Forests