Endangered Ecosystems Alliance has issued a SEND a MESSAGE action alert to tell the newly re-elected BC NDP government to protect the endangered old-growth forests and ecosystems across BC.
Please share: https://www.endangeredecosystemsalliance.org/news/bc-protect-og-endangered-ecosystems
This video by Endangered Ecosystems Alliance’s Ken Wu, provides an update about the BC government’s recent mandate letters and the still needed protected areas and old-growth policies:
Also see a new article in The Narwhal about logging on BC’s private forest lands, at:
https://thenarwhal.ca/private-forests-bc-logging-explainer/
From old-growth forests to grasslands, rainforests to dry forests, alpine mountaintops to rich valley bottoms – BC has the greatest diversity of ecosystems in Canada. The BC NDP government has an opportunity to ensure the protection of these globally renowned ecosystems for our health and well-being, to support a more sustainable, diversified economy, to support First Nations cultures, and to avert the extinction and climate crisis.
BC must develop a provincial Protected Areas Strategy (PAS) where they proactively work with First Nations to protect priority, endangered ecosystems, including our last big-tree old-growth forests and most endangered, least protected ecosystems.
The province must also:
- Develop science-based targets to protect all ecosystems, known as “Ecosystem-Based Targets”.
- Provide “solutions space” funding for First Nations to defer logging in old-growth forests where they currently generate revenues from timber operations there.
- Close logging loopholes in conservation reserves like Old-Growth Management Areas (OGMAs) and Wildlife Habitat Areas (WHAs).
- Implement greater incentives and regulations to ensure a sustainable, value-added, modernized, second-growth forest industry.
- Develop a Conservation-Based Economy Strategy of incentives and other support for new businesses to take advantage of an expanding protected areas system in order to scale up a modernized, sustainable and diversified economy.
