November 15, 2022
250 Businesses Call on BC Government to Commit to Ambitious Targets and Funding to Expand BC’s Protected Areas System
The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance has released a resolution signed by 250 businesses, including 228 based in BC, calling on the BC government to help avert the extinction and climate crises and to benefit our health and the BC economy by committing to meet Canada’s national and international protected areas targets (to protect 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 of Canada’s land and marine areas) at a minimum in BC and to ensure adequate funding to enable these goals. This includes protecting BC’s old-growth forests, ensuring protection targets for every ecosystem-type (ie. not just overall provincial targets), and to provide the necessary funding particularly for First Nations sustainable economic development that would enable new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA’s) to be established.
See the resolution and signatories here.
This snowballing of a business lobby to protect old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems is part of several initiatives over the past decade by the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and their collaborator the Ancient Forest Alliance to work with businesses and other so-called "non-traditional allies" of the conservation movement. Numerous studies show that in many cases protected areas support and foster a more diverse, sustainable, resilient, and ultimately prosperous economy than the traditional resource extraction industries by supporting tourism, recreation, real estate, skilled labour (eg. important for the high tech sector), clean water and fish habitat that supports commercial and recreational fishing, carbon offsets, and non-timber forest products.
Currently, the BC government is negotiating with the federal government on a major Nature Agreement to decide the funding, protection targets, and specific areas for protection in the lead-up to the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity - UNCBD, in Montreal in December) where all countries except the US will negotiate new protected areas targets and policies. The federal government has allocated $2.3 billion for the protection of terrestrial ecosystems across Canada, of which BC’s share would be between $200 to $400 million. The federal government has also committed $55.1 million specifically to protect old-growth forests in BC, contingent on matching provincial funding. If the BC government were to match the federal funding, and also work to secure private funds from conservation groups and foundations, a funding package totalling between $500 million to $1 billion or more could be procured to expand protected areas across BC.
If these funds targeted the right places and recipients – that is, are directed to protect the most endangered ecosystems (ie. the most at-risk and grandest productive old-growth forests, grasslands, coastal and Interior rainforests and dry forests, etc.) and go primarily to First Nations for sustainable economic development and jobs linked to new protected areas, then the Nature Agreement will be the greatest game-changer to protect endangered ecosystems in BC’s history – and effectively end the War in the Woods. However, if the funding evades or skirts around supporting First Nations sustainable economic development and minimizes protecting the most endangered and heavily contested ecosystems (ie. coveted by major resource extraction industries, particularly forestry), including productive (ie. big-treed) old-growth of all forest types, coastal and inland temperate rainforests (the most contested of the old-growth forest types), valley bottoms and lower elevations in general, particularly in southern BC, then even at higher funding levels the agreement can still come up significantly short for protecting the endangered ecosystems in BC.
British Columbia has yet to commit to Canada’s national protected areas targets. Currently 15% of British Columbia’s land area is in legislated protected areas, while the province has claimed 19% protection, in large part due to “creative accounting” by including tenuous conservation regulations such as Old-Growth Management Areas whose boundaries are readily and quietly removable and adjustable by the Forest Minister and bureaucrats.
Across BC, most old-growth forests and endangered ecosystems are on the unceded territories of diverse First Nations, whose consent is a legal necessity to establish new protected areas in the province. The British Columbian government is currently under pressure to help finance First Nations old-growth logging deferrals and protection, in particular to fund First Nations sustainable businesses and jobs linked to new protected areas. The province appointed an independent science team, the Technical Advisory Panel, in 2021 who recommended that logging be deferred on 2.6 million hectares of land with the grandest (biggest trees), oldest and, rarest old-growth stands while First Nations land use plans are developed over a couple years to decide which areas are permanently protected in legislation. These recommended deferral areas have been put forward by the BC government for the consent of local First Nations to decide which areas get deferred. Currently about 1 million of the recommended 2.6 million hectares (ie. 40%) are under deferral, while some areas have been logged.
Across BC, numerous First Nations have an economic dependency on old-growth timber revenues that has been facilitated and fostered by successive provincial governments. Unfortunately, the provincial government has not committed any concrete funding to First Nations to offset their lost revenues should they accept old-growth logging deferrals in areas where they have logging interests, nor to help them develop economic alternatives to old-growth logging (in such industries as tourism, clean energy, sustainable seafood, or non-timber forest products like wild mushrooms) as was done in years past to secure the protection of large sections of BC’s Central and North Coast (ie. the Great Bear Rainforest) and Haida Gwaii, and as is currently underway to protect most of Clayoquot Sound.
Without the key funding, many or most cases First Nations will have no choice but to default back to the status quo of old-growth logging on large parts of their territories. That is, funding to support First Nations sustainable economic alternatives linked to Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas and old-growth logging deferrals is a critically-important driver or engine to enable the expansion of protected areas in BC.
The resolution, developed by the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Nature Canada, calls on the British Columbian government to:
At a minimum, adopt targets that match or exceed the national (25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030) and international (30% by 2030) protected areas targets.
Support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), with appropriate policies and sufficient funding for land-use planning, management and stewardship programs such as Guardians initiatives, and associated Indigenous-led sustainable economic development in First Nations communities.
Embrace the federal funding for expanding protected areas in BC for IPCA’s and land acquisition.
Dedicate significant annual funding to purchase and protect private lands of high conservation value.
Develop science-based protection targets and policies for all ecosystems, from dry forests to rainforests (including old-growth forests), from grasslands to tundra, from freshwater to marine ecosystems.
Quotes
“The BC government won’t be able to ignore for long the growing call from businesses and hundreds of thousands of citizens to commit to and fund the expansion of the protected areas system in the province, including in old-growth forests. Increasing studies show that nature and protected areas tend to foster and attract more diverse, resilient and prosperous economies than the traditional industrial resource extraction industries. Right now we are at the most critical time in BC’s history regarding the fate of the last old-growth forests, and it’s vital that the BC government take responsibility and provide the key funding to support First Nations sustainable economic alternatives that will enable these communities to implement old-growth logging deferrals and new protected areas in the most at-risk old-growth stands and endangered ecosystems. Without this vital funding targeting the right areas with the big trees, it is essentially a set-up to fall back upon the status quo to reinforce the continued liquidation of the biggest and best endangered old-growth stands. This is at a time when protecting nature is increasingly understood as the key remedy to the greatest challenges to our civilization - the climate and extinction crises, while providing vital benefits for our health and economy.”
Ken Wu, Executive Director, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance
“There is a growing enthusiasm from the business community for supporting the protection of native ecosystems in BC - not only from tourism companies as one might expect, but from the many other sectors that have signed, including in the real estate, communications, engineering, architecture, food, fashion, art, agriculture, health and wellness industries. It is not just environmental activists anymore that are coming forward to express their support for protecting the wild places that make our province so special. The province now also has to respond to calls for protection from the business community.”
Celina Starnes, Operations and Outreach Director, Endangered Ecosystems Alliance
"It goes without saying that parks and protected areas are foundational for the outdoor recreation industry in BC as they provide both recreational access and they safeguard the natural environment and scenery that people come for. Old-growth forests are clearly a major part of the environments that people want to explore, and that so many of our customers value. As a store that promotes responsible recreation in natural areas, helping to protect those areas is a core part of our mandate as a business. We see, firsthand, how protecting old growth and spending time in nature is key for our community’s physical and mental health."
Erin Boggs, Co-Owner of Robinson's Outdoor Store in Victoria
“BC has some of the richest, most biodiverse ecosystems in the country, and it is a tragedy that our government is not providing adequate funding to protect the most endangered ecosystems among them. Our natural beauty and intact ecosystems attract talented people from all over the world to live and work near these special places. SES has been able to hire amazing staff with specialized training in efficiency who share our conservation values, partially because of their desire to live close to the giant trees, spawning salmon, soaring eagles, bears and so much more. We strongly believe that protecting our endangered ecosystems is a huge priority that benefits our company, our staff, and our economy, and are proud to support the work of EEA in saving our ecosystems.”
Scott Sinclair, CEO of SES Consulting Inc.
More Background Info
Protecting nature is not only vital to avert the extinction crisis and the climate crisis (by drawing down vast amounts of atmospheric carbon into protected forests, grasslands, and wetlands) but research shows that nature and protected areas are vital for our health and for the economy.
Increasing studies show that being in forests and nature supports our mental and physical health, reducing all sorts of ailments and boosting our immune systems. Recent research has even shown that many trees and plants emit a defensive compound called “phytoncides” which boost our immune systems when we breathe them in.
Studies also show that protected areas, including protecting old-growth forests, attract and foster more diverse, resilient, and prosperous economies, including supporting businesses and jobs in the tourism and recreation sectors; commercial and recreational fishing industry by sustaining clean water and fish habitat; real estate industry by enhancing property values in communities near protected green spaces; non-timber forest products industries like wild mushroom harvesting; high tech sector by attracting skilled labour that locates to areas with a greater environmental quality of life; and by providing numerous ecosystem services that benefit businesses.