The CBVM mission is to develop a global map of the circumboreal forest biome with a common legend.  The reason for concentrating efforts to map boreal vegetation from all around the globe is to provide a common international framework for understanding the boreal region. Currently, various maps already exist of the boreal biome, but they do not rely on a unified international method for classifying and mapping boreal vegetation. By recognizing the boreal region as a single geo-ecosystem with a common set of cultural, political and economic issues, the CBVM project will be the first detailed vegetation map of the entire global biome. Such a map is needed for a wide variety of purposes related to resource development, land-use planning, studies of boreal biota and biodiversity, education, anticipated global changes and human interaction.