August 23, 2021
Federal Liberals’ $50 million BC old-growth fund an important step towards a much greater $600 million old-growth fund that is needed – BC NDP government continues as reluctant conservation laggards for funding old-growth protection
On Saturday the federal Liberals dedicated $50 million to help finance the protection of old growth forests in British Columbia. The fund is an important step to ensure sufficient funding, estimated to be at least $600 million or more, that is needed to protect the most at-risk old-growth forests in BC via support for First Nations old-growth protection initiatives (including new land use plans and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas) and the acquisition of private lands with old-growth forests.
“The federal Liberals have responded to massive public pressure with an important commitment of $50 million for a BC old-growth protection fund, an important start that comes with their already dedicated $2.3 billion allocated in last spring’s federal budget to expand terrestrial protected areas across Canada. A greater level of apportionment or dedication for old-growth protection in BC from this greater national fund could help bring the federal contribution to old-growth protection in BC closer towards the $600 million that is needed at a minimum to protect the most at-risk old-growth forest types,” stated Ken Wu, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance executive director. “Meanwhile, the BC NDP government continues as reluctant conservation laggards regarding funding for old-growth forest protection – and the funding is the key engine needed now to drive forward the critical old-growth logging deferrals and potential protected areas, and they know this.”
The $50 million federal commitment comes in addition to the $2.3 billion that is already allocated in the federal government’s budget last April for the protection of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in Canada, of which BC’s portion would be roughly $200 to $300 million (much of which could be used to protect old-growth forests), to expand protected areas across Canada to 25% by 2025 and 30% of 2030 of its land area (currently 12% of Canada’s land area is protected).
This includes $130 million that has been allocated to establish 10 urban national parks including in Colwood to potentially protect the surplus Department of National Defense lands there with old-growth Coastal Douglas-fir ecosystems, one of the rarest and most endangered ecosystems in the country, of which only 1% of its old-growth remains (largely in the Colwood and Metchosin areas in Coast Salish territory).
In addition, $340 million has been allocated for Indigenous Guardians Programs linked to new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, $377 million for the protection of endangered species habitats, $209 million for endangered ecosystems, and $210 million for bilateral conservation agreements with provinces.
Other portions of the $2.3 billion fund have yet to be allocated. While these funds can be used to further protect old-growth forests, a greater level of apportionment and certainty from these funds should be designated by the federal government for the protection of old-growth forests in BC.
First Nations groups, including the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, major conservation organizations, Green Party MP Paul Manly, and 10,000 Endangered Ecosystems Alliance supporters have been calling on the federal government to earmark dedicated funding to protect old-growth forests in BC, and continue to push the provincial government to do so.
See the original media release here.
And see the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance action alert sent by over 10,000 supporters from 2019 to 2021 that called for a “federal old-growth protection fund” here.
Additional action alerts have now had 10,000 and 6,000 people send messages - see here and here.
The true laggard now is the BC NDP government, who so far have not committed any concrete substantial funding for old-growth protection in BC – critical financing needed for the systematic deferral and protection of old-growth forests. Nor has the BC NDP government even committed to Canada’s national protected areas targets of 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 (15% of BC’s land area is currently in legislated protection).
The vast majority of old-growth forests in BC are on the unceded lands of diverse First Nations, whose consent is required for any major land use changes, including the protection of old-growth forests. Successive provincial governments have fostered an economic dependency in First Nations communities on old-growth timber revenues across the “old-growth zones” in BC, via revenue-sharing, employment, joint venture and tenure agreements. First Nations as a whole will require an equivalent economic alternative to be able to enact the systematic scale of old-growth logging deferrals and protected areas needed to safeguard these endangered ecosystems (only about 3% of the remaining old-growth forests are considered to be “high productivity” or the grandest old-growth forest types with the classic forest giants most people picture when they think about old-growth).
This funding, referred to as “conservation financing”, could be used to fund tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, non-timber forest products (eg. wild mushrooms), value-added sustainable second-growth forests, and other businesses in First Nations communities. This approach has already been employed in the Great Bear Rainforest where $120 million in funding (including $60 million from environmental groups, $30 million from the province, and $30 million from the federal government) was provided years ago to support First Nations to protect 85% of the forest there, as well as in Haida Gwaii. A similar initiative is currently underway in Clayoquot Sound. A similar fund is needed across BC to ensure the protection of old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems, and the provincial government has been an extreme laggard thus far in providing any critical funding to this end (while continually approving runaway spending for the Site C dam megaproject fiasco, headed towards a $20 billion price tag)
The BC NDP government’s reluctance and go-it-slow approach to providing the critical funding for old-growth protection, the key “engine” needed to speed up the process of deferrals and potential protection, is causing great frustration among environmentally concerned British Columbians, resulting in increasing blockades and conflict (including increasing brutality by the RCMP, caught on camera, against environmental protesters at the Fairy Creek protests near Port Renfrew in Pacheedaht territory).
Old-growth forests are vital to support endangered species, First Nations cultures, carbon storage, clean water, wild salmon, tourism, and a more diverse, resilient and prosperous economy. Ranging in age from 140 to 2000 years, they are not replicated by the ensuing second-growth tree plantations that they are being replaced with, ecologically, culturally nor economically, and are relogged every 50 to 80 years in BC, never to become old-growth again.
The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance has released a new mini-documentary video on the Coastal Old-Growth Temperate Rainforests in BC that has now been viewed by over 700,000 Canadians on Facebook.
See it on YouTube here.
And on Facebook here