Discover Canada's devastating oil sands

The tar sands cover a region the size of England.

The mined area looks like the aftermath of a meteor impact. There are known reserves of 170 billion barrels of oil in these sands – a volume exceeded only by Saudi reserves.

Tar sands exploitation impacts on local and indigenous people living downstream from the oil sands development. The waters are now polluted, traditional livelihoods lost and residents of the Fort Chipewyan community downstream fear that their higher than expected rate of cancers is linked to the tar sands.

The oil beneath Alberta's ancient forests was once considered too expensive and difficult to extract. But in their desperation for fuel, oil giants have resorted to these 'unconventional' oil supplies, the production of which generates three times the level of greenhouse gas as conventional oil on average. WWF is calling for a freeze on further oil sands developments.