The geographical core of what could be the most important environmental initiative in eastern North America has just been declared a United Nations biosphere reserve.

Formally called the Thousand Islands and Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, it borders on the St. Lawrence River and extends in a rough triangle from Kingston north to Westport, and then southeast to Brockville.

The area is 50 per cent forested, and is the third richest in biodiversity in Canada. It is a transition zone that brings together species from four different ecological regions. Only the Gulf Islands in British Columbia and Carolinian sections along the north shore of Lake Erie are home to more species.

The biosphere is the geographical core of the Algonquin to Adirondack initiative (A2A), which aims to protect a swath of forested land as large as Nova Scotia, extending from Algonquin Park in Ontario to Adirondack Park in the United States. The purpose of the A2A is to promote biodiversity by protecting breeding ranges and the ability of wildlife to travel north and south.

It is lands within the biosphere reserve that pose the greatest challenge to A2A on the Canadian side of the border. Much of the forest is fragmented by roads, building lots, and farms, and development pressures are building.

The U.N. designation conveys no legal power to enforce conservation policies. Protection of land and species within the biosphere is strictly voluntary. Nevertheless, it highlights the area as biologically unique, and judging from stories carried by the local media, this already is raising awareness and making the job of protection easier.

Most important of all, biosphere designations are seen by the United Nations as the creation of "living laboratories," dedicated to finding ways to "maintain healthy natural systems while, at the same time, meet the material needs and aspirations of an increasing number of people."

Creation of a biosphere, says the United Nations, becomes "a pact between the local community and society as a whole" to establish a mechanism for planning and coordinating all the activities that will take place within a reserve.

It took ten years to gain approval for the Thousand Islands and Frontenac Arch biosphere. It has become the twelfth reserve in Canada, and the third in Ontario.

The "pact," in its case, takes the form of a Biosphere Network that is coordinating efforts of a diverse coalition of members who are seeking ways to "promote a balanced relationship between humans and nature." Among the members are chambers of commerce, trappers, hunters, farmers, environmental groups, companies, municipalities, and government agencies.

"Over the last several generations, we've divided and subdivided, until we've managed to create separate silos for just about everything we do," says network administrator Norm Ruttan. The job of the network, he says, is to try and bring the parts back together again. "We're working on reestablishing wholeness."

To do this, the network is identifying common goals among its members, and then coordinating efforts to reach them. For instance, it's helping five different municipalities identify issues for inclusion in official plans, assisting waterfront owners to protect shorelines, and encouraging participation in mapping ecological features of the landscape throughout the biosphere.

And with the A2A, it is helping to build support for what is, without question, a massive undertaking.

"I think we're developing a pretty good model for achieving sustainability," says Ruttan. I think he's right.