The following is a new article in The Narwhal about the BC government's shift in forest policy, removing the clause that constrains conservation measures, supporting greater value-added forestry, and committing to implement a conservation financing mechanism to support First Nations old-growth protection (an indispensable pre-requisite to protecting old-growth in timber-dependent First Nations communities - protected areas and logging deferrals are both dependent on First Nations consent and move only as fast as First Nations councils decide to move) - read some exerpts:
Sarah Cox
The Narwhal, Feb 16, 2023
A shift in how the province manages forests — taking into account biodiversity, climate change and Indigenous partnership — signals a long-awaited change in what Premier David Eby calls ‘decades of short-term and transactional thinking’
A “war in the woods” has simmered for decades in B.C., sometimes erupting into high-profile protests and arrests over plans to log ancient trees in places like Clayoquot Sound and Fairy Creek.
This week, the provincial government unveiled a suite of new measures that aim to accelerate old-growth protection and broker a truce. Measures include new initiatives to finance old-growth forest protection, more Indigenous participation in land-use decisions and an end to prioritizing timber extraction over all other values, including biodiversity and carbon storage.
“Our government has a new vision for B.C. and our forestry industry, one where we take better care of our rarest and oldest ecosystems, our oldest forests and our climate,” Premier David Eby said at a Feb. 15 news conference. The vision includes Indigenous Peoples as full partners in sustainable forest management, while workers and communities will benefit from “secure, innovative forestry jobs,” Eby said.
“After decades of short-term and transactional thinking, we’re making significant changes in our approach to forestry in this province. The first step is putting Indigenous Peoples at the center of land management decisions in their territories. The days of making decisions without Indigenous Peoples are over.”
Conservation groups and the First Nations Forestry Council were quick to praise the new measures, although some groups are calling for faster action to safeguard what little is left of B.C.’s old-growth forests. Less than three per cent of high productivity old-growth forests — the forests with the biggest trees and the richest biodiversity — remains following decades of industrial logging.
Conservation financing to help protect B.C. old-growth forests
Speaking at the news conference, B.C. Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston said the government plans to build on that success. Within six months, B.C. will establish a conservation financing mechanism to protect old-growth, an initiative long advocated by the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs and the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.
The financing mechanism will leverage private and philanthropic donations to fund conservation measures supported by the province and First Nations, Ralston said. “We recently saw this in the creation of [the Incomappleux] conservancy, and we’re committed to expanding this model across the province.” He said the government will also enable First Nations and local communities to finance old-growth protection through verified carbon offsets that “represent long-term emission reductions.”
Ken Wu, executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance, said he is encouraged by the major shift underway in B.C.’s forestry and old-growth policies, calling the conservation financing mechanism “a start.”
“We are headed in the right direction, and we commend Premier David Eby for moving forward with these key commitments,” Wu said in a statement.
Pointing to the urgency and scale of conservation needed in B.C. to meet a new nature commitment to protect 30 per cent of the province’s land by 2030, Wu said the province, which has a large surplus, must make a major investment in old-growth conservation financing. He pointed to conservation financing recently provided by the federal government to establish protected areas in the Great Bear Sea, the Northwest Territories and the James Bay Lowlands in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples.
“The province needs to step forward here and commit their own funds for conservation financing, and bring in federal dollars while they are at it,” Wu said.
Good-bye to B.C.’s ‘unduly restrict’ clause that stymied old-growth protections
Wu also applauded the government’s decision to remove a clause in forest regulations that allowed timber supply to trump all other values, including ecosystem health, wildlife protection and First Nations cultural values. Known as the “unduly restrict” clause, the clause prevented any conservation measures from “unduly restricting” available timber supply for the forestry industry.
Wu urged the province to lift other restrictions on conservation measures, including caps or limits on the timber supply impacts of designations such as Old-Growth Management Areas and Wildlife Habitat Areas, which can help safeguard old forests.
Michelle Connolly, director of Conservation North, a Prince George-based non-profit group, said wildlife habitat protection tools are still constrained by the “unduly restricted” clause that sets limits on conservation.
“To meet the spirit of the paradigm shift that B.C. has promised, that has to change,” Connolly said in an interview. “All new forest landscape planning activities need to make explicit that there are no limits to areas retained for the conservation of wildlife.”
Connolly said she understands the continued application of the “unduly restricted” clause to Wildlife Habitat Areas and Old-Growth Management Areas was an honest mistake the government intends to correct. “Until then, it’s a problem,” she said.
Ralston said the removal of the “unduly restrict” clause won’t apply to existing forest stewardship plans, the government-approved plans forestry companies must prepare before harvesting or road-building can begin. The new consideration of values other than timber supply will apply when plans come up for renewal every five years, he said.
At the press conference, Eby said the government has deferred 2.1 million hectares of old-growth. He did not disclose how many hectares are in forests identified as at the highest risk of ecological collapse.
First Nations welcome path to inclusive old-growth management in B.C.
Ralston said “short-sighted approaches have led us to challenges we’re facing today,” noting the forest industry is in a period of transition. Forestry companies have recently curtailed operations at mills across the province.
“With the end of the beetle-kill harvest, and years of record wildfires, we need to do more with less and create more jobs for every single tree harvest,” Ralston said.
Ralston said the government will double its current $90 million investment to help mills process smaller-diameter trees and allow more high-value wood products to be manufactured. “A more diverse and resilient industry will be more resilient to the volatile boom and bust cycles we’ve seen in recent times.”
The government will also provide $25 million for eight regional Forest Landscape Planning tables. The landscape plans, which Ralston called “a more comprehensive and inclusive approach to forest stewardship,” will replace existing plans developed by industry, providing greater certainty about where sustainable harvesting can occur to support jobs and investments.
The government will also increase Indigenous participation in co-developing changes to forest policy through $2.4 million to the First Nations Forestry Council to help ensure First Nations are full partners in sustainable forest management.
First Nations Forestry Council CEO Leonard Joe said First Nations have been asking to have a seat at the table for years. “I for one am glad to see this day, to witness the province recognize the vital role of First Nations, the role that we play in managing sustainable forests.”
First Nations priorities, values and principles must be factored into forestry legislation, policy and program development, Joe said. The old-growth strategic review report was clear that Indigenous knowledge is crucial for sustaining and restoring healthy forest ecosystems, he pointed out.
“We are the original stewards of the land. But for too long, First Nations have been sidelined in the sector and watched our lands be devastated one tree at a time. Today there are signs that this is changing,” Joe said.
Read the full article here: