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Landscape

The United States has some 7% of the world's forested area and 13% of the temperate forests. Combined with Canada, the two countries have half the world's coastal temperate forests - an area of outstanding biodiversity. However, some 10% of the earth's forest plantations are to be found in the USA and that figure is increasing as natural woods are converted to 'fibre farms'.

WWF-US is working to change this pattern by pushing for increases in protected areas, especially in the Rockies and Alaska. A recent success was the purchase of temperate rainforests around Prince William Sound with funds from the Exxon Valdez settlement. At the same time, WWF is also working to influence consumer demand for timber from well-managed forests through the development of Buyers' Groups.

There are 417.6 million hectares of forest land in Canada. Of this, around 28% is currently managed for timber production. Old forests make up 71% of the total volume of the country's commercial forests. The ever quickening pace of logging (1 million hectares every year) and other demands on Canada's forests, is leading to a change in their character. More than 40 forest dwelling species are now officially threatened or endangered.

Through its Endangered Spaces Campaign, and support for a landscape ecology approach to forest certification standards, WWF Canada is attempting to moderate the rate of change in original forest in order to maintain adequate forest quality. The goal of the Endangered Spaces Campaign - to complete a protected areas network which represents all the distinct ecological forest zones of Canada - is now government policy.

[ U S A ]   [ Canada ]

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Land area of North America Programme region 1,835,150,000 ha
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Area of forest and other woodland 749,289,000 ha
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Annual change in forest cover Ð 316,500 ha
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Number of WWF forest projects 3
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1996 expenditure Sfr 2,521,818
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1997 budget Sfr 2,323,806
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Number of certified forests 8
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Coverage 615,621 ha
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Number of protected areas 1222
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Coverage 186,702,762 ha
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