What do you want the BC government to do about trees and old growth forests? This Wednesday, Jan. 31st is the final deadline for the public to contribute input on the Draft BC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework. Your voice matters!
Creatively United invites you to read, share and personalize the letter we created. Send your letter to biodiversity.ecosystemhealth@gov.bc.ca
The Letter:
BC Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework 2024
Recommendation:
We need provincial direction through overarching legislation to require all local governments prepare a legally binding biodiversity and ecosystem health strategic plan which provides the resilience to adapt to massive increases in climate events. All future development must be aligned with this plan. Protection of trees is vital and lies at the very heart of this plan.
Rationale:
Scientists have consistently warned us that the global temperatures will exceed 1.5C by the end of this decade and over 2C within 20 years. This will greatly increase the severity and frequency of climate impacts associated with heat domes; atmospheric rivers; wildfires and extreme wind events. Nature’s current and potentially future diminished level of biodiversity and ecosystem health cannot withstand this onslaught. More than half the provincial population lives in urban areas. Current policy to increase the density of urban development is inconsistent with protecting trees and biodiversity.
Submission:
Creatively United for the Planet Society is a non-profit organization located in Victoria, BC, focused on solutions to the climate emergency, biodiversity loss, zero waste and social justice. In addition to live programming, Creatively United offers a free online sharing hub for information and events and has more than 6000 newsletter subscribers.
Creatively United congratulates the BC Government in drafting its Framework document and for recommending a paradigm shift to sustaining and improving ecosystem health over resource extraction and development.
The key statement in the Framework is the following:
‘Policies, decisions, and actions will first consider what ecosystems need to sustain themselves and the benefits they provide over spatial scales -e.g. local, watershed and regional and then consider how they may be used to support communities and economies.’
The principal issue that Creatively United wises to advise the BC Government is retaining and replanting trees both on Crown Lands and on private lands within communities. We strongly support the many groups in BC urging the government to take stronger action on protecting old growth particularly in Fairy Creek.
We are horrified at the treatment that protestors suffered at the hand of the RCMP when they were exercising their legitimate rights to protest government policies. The government is now belatedly drafting a Framework policy on strengthening ecosystem health when this is exactly what the protestors were seeking and for which their advocacy was abused.
Trees in urban areas provide a wide range of ecosystem benefits. They offer shade under heat domes; control runoff in floods, sequester carbon; provide nutrients for healthy waters; habitats for wildlife and amenity values for communities. But far too often, trees are removed for development, rights of way and urban infrastructure, such that their natural benefits are totally lost. This result is hardly an example of sustaining healthy ecosystems.
As the population grows and the demand of housing increases across the urban communities, without policy change we can only anticipate greater ecosystem losses. We cannot achieve the principles set out in the statement above without a profound transformation in the governance of urban tree canopy.
The Framework document espouses the need to engage the whole of government. This means local government, which are the creatures of Provincial legislation and governance.
Under the current governance model, trees are managed at the local government level under the Community and Vancouver Charters. Section 8 (3) of the Community Charter enables local governments to enact by-laws to manage trees both for their removal and their preservation. Division 7 of the Community Charter provides local authorities with guidance on how to manage trees within their boundaries.
Currently, by-laws enable local government and property owners with the right to remove all trees necessary to enable development in accordance with local zoning restrictions. If the local government does not allow this tree removal then they must pay the landowner compensation for any reduction in property value or enable a variance to enable the property to be developed.
These provisions have led to massive tree removal across the urban landscape to the detriment of the environment and the range of ecosystem amenities noted above.
This policy will be exacerbated by the recent amendments to local government zoning legislation to allow higher density development on single-family lots across many municipalities. Such densification will greatly increase the risk for removal of the number and canopy of trees currently essential for ecosystem sustainability.
If the guidance contained in the Framework policy noted above is to be followed, then a significant shift in current policy in the Community Charter will be required.
Local governments will have to be mandated to establish a biodiversity and healthy ecosystem strategic plan which maps out the critical areas for protection of trees and other key components of healthy ecosystems within their jurisdiction.
Such a plan should be like an Official Community Plan, with legal authority at the local, watershed and Regional District level to ensure that trees and other key ecosystem values are spatially in place to ensure healthy ecosystem services.
No development authorized under an Official Community Plan can occur unless they are consistent with the ecosystem strategic plan. In this way, urban development can occur but only if it is aligned with sustaining ecosystem services.
In many cases the loss of ecosystem services due to urban development is greater that a sustainable and healthy ecosystem requires. The strategic plan for biodiversity and ecosystem health will have to include restorative measures to return some of these damaged and lost service to health.
Sincerely,
YOUR NAME HERE
I passionately agree with everything in this letter to saving old growth first of all in Fairy Creek and old growth in the rest of BC …as I also agree we need to plant more tree’s anywhere we can! And requiring local governments to have a a biodiversity strategic plan with ecosystem health plan! Let’s show the world we are saving our old growth forests to establish an ecosystem that brings back our population of salmon ! And healthier forests in BC!
I agree 100% with the above letter.
the discussions and promises of this or any government in BC or federally do not match up with their actions. I understand that the forestry industry has a powerful voice but regardless old growth forest is far too important to allow it to be part of harvesting. I realize that the cost of extracting trees and leaving the old growth in place is more costly to the industry but the cost to the environment and to our ecosystem is far greater.
I think the wording and intention of the government plans to protect biodiversity is good but there needs to be a time frame and it needs to be implemented quickly befor we lose more animals and land through development and expansion into the wilderness and our forests. Old growth must be protected.
I agree and support Creatively United in their submission and of particular significance:
“The principal issue that Creatively United wishes to advise the BC Government is RETAINING and replanting trees both on Crown Lands and on private lands within communities. We strongly support the many groups in BC urging the government to take stronger action on protecting old growth particularly in Fairy Creek.”
In my opinion there have been too many empty promises from the B.C. Government to protect Old Growth and instead, those who sincerely try to protect Fairy Creek and other Old Growth are punished.
I agree and fully support Creatively United in their submission and of particular significance:
“The principal issue that Creatively United wishes to advise the BC Government is RETAINING and replanting trees both on Crown Lands and on private lands within communities. We strongly support the many groups in BC urging the government to take stronger action on protecting old growth particularly in Fairy Creek.”
In my opinion there have been too many empty promises from the B.C. Government to protect Old Growth and instead, those who sincerely try to protect Fairy Creek and other Old Growth are punished.