Great Bear Sea: vast new marine zone a ‘mindset shift’ for conservation

Political and Indigenous leaders hope to replicate success of British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest conservation area

Nearly a decade ago, Canadian political leaders, environmental activists and Indigenous nations came together to shelter a sprawling 6.4 million-hectare area of trees, sea wolves, salmon and grizzly bears - a project that was named, with some branding acumen, the Great Bear Rainforest.

The plan has since been hailed as a triumph for protecting swathes of old-growth cedar and spruce and drawing global attention to an area of pristine forest the size of Ireland.