The vast Hudson Bay peatlands in northern Canada, a critical carbon storehouse, face threats from mining activities in the Ring of Fire region. These ecosystems, vital for climate regulation, hold five times the carbon per acre as the Amazon rainforest. Conservationists and Indigenous groups warn that development could release stored carbon and disrupt biodiversity.
The Hudson Bay peatlands span a 90-million-acre area from northern Manitoba to Quebec, serving as a haven for biodiversity with the world's largest caribou herds, polar bear dens over 200 years old, and more than 1,000 plant species and 175 bird species. Beneath the surface, water-saturated mosses form peat, an acidic and anaerobic material that traps carbon dioxide, slowing climate change. Indigenous nations call it “the breathing lands,” with Valérie Courtois, executive director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, describing it as “the world’s temperature regulator” and “a big fridge on top of the planet.”
Peatlands cover just 3 percent of Earth’s surface but store nearly one-third of global carbon, yet only 17 percent are protected, according to a Wildlife Conservation Society study. In northern Ontario's Ring of Fire, a mineral-rich deposit containing nickel and chromium for electric vehicle batteries lies beneath these peatlands. Ontario Premier Doug Ford has pushed for mining to reduce reliance on the United States, stating this summer, “This is how we make ourselves less reliant on the United States.”
Mining exploration already disturbs the ecosystem through test drilling and heavy machinery, altering hydrology and risking carbon release, says Janet Sumner of the Wildlands League. When peat dries, decomposition resumes, emitting carbon like fossil fuels, warns Julie Loisel of the University of Nevada, Reno. Lawrence Martin of the Mushkewowuk Council calls them “the lungs of the earth,” emphasizing, “If you start tampering with that, you have to be really, really careful.”
Indigenous-led conservation efforts, including proposals from the Mushkewowuk Council and Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug First Nation, aim to protect these areas. Courtois notes an Indigenous approach focuses on “what you need to keep in those ecosystems as opposed to looking at what you can take.” Martin adds mining could coexist with conservation if done “with great conscience,” though the Ontario government's support remains uncertain. Sphagnum moss, absorbing up to 20 times its weight in water, underpins this carbon storage, built over thousands of years.