Our presentation focused on the concept of ecological benchmarks in the design of the protected areas network, particularly for the boreal area of Canada. Their intention is to be a control, if you will, that helps us better understand how we're managing the whole landscape of the boreal. As such, it is critically important maintain these controls, these ecological benchmarks, close to their natural condition and preserve the ecological integrity of those systems so that they're an effective reference that can help guide our management of the wider landscape.
Protected areas are there as our controls for management on the wider landscape. They need to be managed with ecological integrity as a priority, which isn't to say that human use is incompatible, but it just needs to be secondary to that overarching objective of ensuring we preserve the ecological integrity of those systems.