Introduction:
There are many reasons why we should work towards preserving old growth ecosystems. They provide a place for spiritual and cultural worship, they are rich in biodiversity, act as carbon sinks, mitigate flood and forest fires, filter water, and have the potential to provide economic opportunities for First Nations and rural communities. Old growth forests in BC are at-risk, and they shouldn’t be. In April of 2020, a report was issued summarizing the state of old growth forests in BC and steps that the government should take to help preserve them.
In the report, the authors recommend that an immediate halt to logging old growth is necessary to implement the panels recommendations. That’s why there is so much public outcry over the issue in this moment of time. The Old Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) is over 70 pages long, but here are a few of the main points that I think we should all be aware of.
1) The report was commissioned by the government of BC in part as an effort to help revive the forestry industry.
It’s true, the report is pro forestry! The executive summary states, “Facing diminishing available timber supplies, ecosystems at risk of biodiversity loss in several areas, and significant public concern, the Government of British Columbia announced that an independent panel (Al Gorley and Garry Merkel) would carry out a province-wide Old Growth Strategic Review to inform the development of new management policies and strategies.”
It's no secret that the forestry industry has been in trouble for some time now. This report outlines ways in which the government can work towards creating more stable timbre supplies and consistent economic benefits through managing the forest for ecosystem health as opposed to adhering to the idea of a “working forest”. This is the main paradigm shift that the government needs to embrace. Another is involving indigenous leaders in the planning of the new framework
2) It calls for immediate deferrals of old forests where ecosystems are at “very high and near-term risk of irreversible biodiversity loss” and provides criteria for identifying such areas.
The government is hiding behind two key points when it comes to addressing this issue.
The first point relates to the definition of old growth. The government, and those who oppose the protection of old growth, claim there is plenty of old growth left in the province. The issue with this is that they are using a 30 year-old definition of old growth that is based on the age of the trees. This definition includes many areas that are either unproductive, un-harvestable, or not at-risk. The OGSR addresses this by including criteria with which to assess areas they recommend as being deferral candidates. The paper also provides several suggestions in which deferrals could be implemented.
The second point is indigenous rights. The government has deferred areas in Fairy Creek at the request of the Pacheedaht, Ditidaht, and Huu-ay-aht First Nations and claims that it is working hard with other indigenous communities to implement more deferrals. However, several First Nations communities have been asking for old growth logging deferrals for years with no government response. Meanwhile, logging and road building to continue on ancestral lands, including areas of Fairy Creek and Walbran.
According to a recent article from the Tyee, Squamish Nation councillor Khelsilem is quoted as saying “The opt-in method is an offensive approach to Indigenous rights. It allows companies to keep logging without having gained the nation’s permission to log in the first place.”
One of the most important aspects of implementing the OGSR is including indigenous voices in building a new framework for forestry practices. However, the OGSR explicitly states that deferrals need to happen first, in order for the government to have time to implement the remaining recommendations.
3) The report found that many of the problems the industry and government face today are because the recommendations of the previous Report were not followed.
I know what you’re thinking. Wait, there was another report? There sure was! Back in 1992, a year before the original War in the Woods, the government commissioned the original Old Growth Review. The latest version states “Had that strategy been fully implemented, we would likely not be facing the challenges around old growth to the extent we are today”
To recap, 28 years ago the government paid for experts to figure out how to preserve old growth forests, and the government failed to comply with the recommendations. People began to occupy land as a form of civil disobedience, forcing the government and industry make change. As soon as possible, the government started self-regulating the industry and the recommendations fell by the wayside. Three decades later, old growth is STILL unprotected so the government paid for experts to figure out how to preserve old forests. So far, the governments have failed to comply with the recommendations and people are occupying land as a form of civil disobedience.
We really don’t have the enough time to go through the cycle again. This is it.
4) The NDP promised that “a re-elected BC NDP will implement the full slate of proposals from the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel. We will act on all fourteen recommendations and work with Indigenous leaders and organizations, industry, labour and environmental organizations on the steps that will take us there.”
The government has done a lot to make it look as though that’s what they are doing, while showing almost no indication that meaningful steps are being taken to implement the recommendations of the OGSR.
The government claims it has deferred more than 350,000 hectares of old growth forests. But according to a recent article by McLean magazine, only 3,800 hectares of that falls under the criteria set out in the OGSR. The remaining 341,200 hectares are either un-harvestable, already protected, or non-productive.
The deferral at Fairy Creek is a classic example of how the government misleads the public. As you can see from this image, while much of the area inside the Fairy Creek watershed has been deferred, you can also see that a large portion of it was already protected as a wildlife management area. Additionally, it is also clear that a large portion of the in-tact old growth in the immediate surrounding area remains unprotected and that roads have been approved into those areas.
5. The OGSR shows that historically, the public has played a large role in preserving old growth forests. “Every jurisdiction’s reasons for moving towards the management of old forests were different but most of the areas that adopted a system of significant old forest protection did so as a response to overwhelming public pressure that included either civil disobedience or legal actions.”
One more time for those in the back. Most of the areas that adopted a system of significant old forest protection did so as a response to overwhelming public pressure that included either civil disobedience or legal actions.
I’m not highlighting this to justify blocking industry. What it shows is irresponsibility on behalf of the government for not taking meaningful steps towards protecting old growth or the forest industry. Additionally, it does not instill confidence that meaningful steps are being taken to include indigenous wisdom in the new framework. The public needs to advocate!
Here are a few ways in which you can help make the government accountable.
Contact Premier John Horgan’s office
• Telephone: 204-387-1715.
• E-mail: premier@gov.bc.ca.
• Contact Katrine Conroy, B.C. Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural
Development
• Telephone: 250-387-6240
• E-Mail: FLNR.Minister@gov.bc.ca