Here the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance's Ken Wu gives a new overview on where BC's old-growth forest policies are at, as of early August, 2023.
The key progress thusfar - BC's Premier David Eby has committed to:
1. Double protected areas from 15% to 30% of BC by 2030,
2. Establish a conservation financing mechanism to fund Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, and
3. Develop a Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework that could potentially put ecosystem-integrity first in all forestry, protected areas and land-use decisions.
These are major commitments that at the least will result in a massive, historically unprecedented expansion in protected areas in BC over the next 6 to 7 years, starting in just a few months as First Nations (who ultimately decide on new protected areas in BC, under the law - the BC government can't unilaterally just protect areas on Crown lands in most areas without First Nations support) move forward with their Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas initiatives. Eby must be thanked for this.
BUT there are several loopholes still:
1. There are no commitments yet to ensure "ecosystem-based protected areas targets" (that also must include forest productivity distinctions - sites that can grow big trees, eg. lower elevations, rich soils, vs. small trees, egs. subalpine and bogs) set by a Chief Ecologist and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees,
2. The forthcoming conservation financing mechanism might evade funding the central economic component of supporting alternative Indigenous-owned sustainable businesses that are needed to supplant their old-growth timber dependency, and instead focus solely on supporting their capacity, data, stewardship and monitoring needs (important but not the full gamut of needs...foremost are alternatives to old-growth logging for First Nations communities),
3. BC might count "fake protected areas" that still allow logging or boundary changes, in their accounting of how much they are protecting towards their 30% by 2030 target, ie. Weaker Old-Growth Management Areas and Wildlife Habitat Areas vs. Stronger Provincial Conservancies, Parks & Ecological Reserves.
4. BC has yet to provide interim or "solutions space" funding for First Nations' to implement logging deferrals to compensate for their lost business revenues for the 2 to 3 years of lands under deferral while they undertake land use and protected areas planning. Without interim funding, fewer deferrals will be agreed to by First Nations who will lose millions of dollars without help.
Go to our take action page to send messages to protect old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems at: www.endangeredecosystemsallia...
9 авг 2023
