*** Updated June 2nd
The BC government’s forestry press conference:
Mainly reiterated their same talking points, including misleading statistics about how much old-growth logging has been deferred (including vast tracts of low productivity old-growth and already off-limits medium and high productivity old-growth that constitute the majority of their deferral areas), and was largely an exercise in “talk and log” to buy time for the status quo of old-growth liquidation.
Focused on logging industry players as their key speakers, including the province’s largest old-growth logging union (the #1 donor to their party) along with Premier Horgan and Forest Minister Conroy.
Most insidiously, focused on increasing the economic stake and dependency of First Nations on logging including on old-growth logging.
Made mention in their forestry intentions paper of compensation for lost harvesting rights - potentially, this might include financing for old-growth logging deferrals and the establishment of protected areas for First Nations with old-growth timber interests (a necessity), or it could simply be for the redistribution of tenure from large logging companies to First Nations and smaller companies. There is a lack of clarity on when and where this compensation would apply.
The only major sign of hope: Horgan seemed to be recognizing and potentially embracing the $2.3 billion in federal financing for Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (ie. federal funding, which could potentially provide $300 million for BC, that could go a significant way to protecting old-growth forests here). This is a game-changer to get the ball rolling to protect old-growth forests, if it is genuine and if the province embraces the expanded protected areas targets of the federal government (25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of the land and marine areas of Canada) and most of the international community. See the 40 minute 30 second mark in the press conference at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8wB2xMkz7U
June 1, 2021
Today BC Premier John Horgan is expected to present an “intentions paper” on the BC government’s coming direction in regards to old-growth forest logging and/or protection, the forest industry and First Nations.
The announcement carries high stakes as the War in the Woods explodes in BC, with over 140 conservationists being arrested at old-growth protection blockades on southern Vancouver Island over the past month and ancient forest rallies erupting at BC NDP MLA offices across the province, with a groundswell of momentum that continues to rapidly grow nationally and internationally.
“The BC government has a choice to genuinely protect the old-growth forests in BC by deferring logging in the most endangered, monumental stands of old-growth and by providing and embracing the critical financing for First Nations old-growth protection initiatives. Or they can be on the wrong side of history by increasing the economic stake and dependency of BC communities on old-growth timber revenues and employment to try to log until extinction. But that model of old-growth liquidation and the resulting ecological and economic collapse of BC communities and ecosystems will benefit no one in the end – including the fate of this BC government upon whose shoulders we will place the entire responsibility of what happens to these most magnificent old-growth forests on Earth,” stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director. “Virtually the rest of the industrialized world is exclusively logging second and third growth forests, and BC can and should do the same, sustainably. Second-growth forests dominate the forested land base of BC – there is no excuse to log until the end of the grandest ancient forests, just as there is no excuse to slaughter the last herds of elephants for ivory or endangered great whales for meat. There are alternatives. And no amount of PR-spin will change the hard facts on the ground.”
In Horgan’s announcement, conservationists will fundamentally be looking to see if the BC government increases the economic stake and dependency of BC communities on old-growth timber revenues and employment, or moves to provide the critical support and financing (see here and here) for the economic alternatives for old-growth forestry-dependent communities, in particular Indigenous communities whose unceded lands these are, and to defer logging in the most contested at risk old-growth stands as identified by scientists recently (see here) that constitute only 2.6% of BC’s forested land base, particularly the high-productivity (grandest) old-growth forests with the largest trees and richest biodiversity.
Here are some things to watch for that will indicate whether the BC government is largely working towards entrenching the status quo and buying time for more “talk and log” of the last endangered old-growth stands as consultations are underway, or is genuinely working towards protecting the most at-risk old-growth stands and to build more diversified, resilient, and prosperous economies for First Nations and forestry-dependent communities.
Signs the BC Government Wants to Entrench the Status Quo of Old-Growth Forest Liquidation:
Increase the economic stake and dependency on old-growth logging in BC communities, including expanding joint ventures, tenures, and revenue-sharing agreements in key old-growth-filled Tree Farm Licences between major corporations and First Nations without conjoining equivalent financing for First Nations communities for economic alternatives (tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, non-timber forest products, value-added second-growth forestry, etc.) and negotiated conservation agreements to protect the grandest high-productivity old-growth stands.
Enacting more logging deferrals that largely fail to include high productivity old-growth forests and that mainly include low productivity (ie. smaller trees) old-growth at higher elevations and in bogs, and second-growth and cut-over lands.
Repeating their PR-spin that lots of old-growth remains (by conflating small trees with big trees, as not all old-growth forests are created equal...low-productivity old-growth with small trees now encompasses 80% of remaining old-growth stands), that environmentalists want to shut down the whole forest industry (a straw man that they have erected repeatedly, as the goal is for immediate logging deferrals in the most at-risk old-growth categories as defined by the BC government’s own public input panel, a tiny fraction of BC’s forests), that the BC government actually is enacting the 14 recommendations of their Old-Growth Strategic Review Panel including the core logging deferrals (false: they have missed the 6 month deadline and only 1% of their logging deferral areas include previously unprotected high-productivity old-growth that is supposed to be the core of the deferrals according to the Panel), and by playing the jobs versus the environment card in general.
Signs that the BC Government Genuinely Wants to Overhaul Old-Growth Forest Policy and Protect the Most Endangered Old-Growth Ecosystems and Ensure Sustainable Communities:
Committing to the critical financing (several hundred millions of dollars needed from the province) to help First Nations communities and forestry dependent communities immediately transition away from logging high productivity and the most at-risk old-growth stands, to develop value-added second-growth forestry, tourism, and clean energy, and to support First Nations old-growth protection initiatives including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA’s).
Committing to the national and international protected areas targets and framework (protecting 25% of the province’s land area by 2025 and 30% by 2030, as is consistent with the federal government) – at a bare minimum.
Embracing BC’s share of the $2.3 billion in federal financing to flow into the province to protect old-growth forests, largely to finance Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas – this right now is the greatest opportunity to protect old-growth forests in BC, if the BC NDP government doesn’t work to undermine and obstruct that funding.
Enacting logging deferrals in major tracts of the last high-productivity, most at risk and most contested old-growth forests, percentage-wise.
One of the largest concerns is that Premier Horgan and the BC government will increase the economic stake and dependency of First Nations, who fundamentally decide on protected areas and land use policies, on old-growth timber revenues in their communities by increasing the number and scale of joint venture logging agreements with the major timber corporations without providing the conjoining financing for conservation-based alternatives to old-growth logging in those Tree Farm Licences and ensuring negotiated agreements to protect the most at risk, high-productivity stands.
While likely verbally-couched in the language of First Nations “reconciliation”, in reality the provincial government with its vastly superior financial, legal and political resources relative to First Nations governments with few economic options on most reserves, will be using its colonial power to funnel First Nations leadership to politically to support the outcome wanted by the provincial government and to try to shield the province from its responsibility for the outcome of continued old-growth logging in the most contentious areas. The blame however will be placed squarely on the BC government’s shoulders by conservationists, should this happen.
Where major tracts of old-growth forests have been set-aside in the province on a large scale are where financial options, known as conservation financing, have been made available to First Nations to develop alternative sustainable economies congruent to old-growth protection, such as the $120 million provided to First Nations in the Central and North Coast of BC as part of the Great Bear Rainforest where about 85% of the forests have been set-aside from logging while First Nations develop tourism, sustainable seafood, and other economic ventures.