‘The spiraling decline of our planet’s biodiversity is the true tragedy of our time’
– David Attenborough from A Life on our Planet

The road to carbon neutrality can only be successful if nature’s biodiversity is not only protected but expanded to absorb the residual carbon that mankind will still emit in 2050. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has called for the protection of at least 30% of biodiversity by 2030. Canada and the US are amongst the leading nations to endorse this target.

Forests are by far the most ubiquitous vegetation cover in British Columbia and indeed in many other parts of the world. Yet forest biodiversity is under intense threat in British Columbia. The equivalent of 32 soccer fields of old growth are logged every day. On Vancouver Island as little as 1 to 3% of original old growth remains.

Fairy Creek is ground zero for the public campaign to preserve old growth in the San Juan Watershed on southwestern Vancouver Island. Kathy Code is one of the leaders of a campaign to place an injunction on logging this watershed. She is joined by Elder Bill Jones, who is a band member of the Pacheedaht First Nation and a leading member of the Rainforest Flying Squad of protestors who are also fighting for an injunction on logging in the courts. Kathy and Bill explain what is at stake in protecting this jewel and how the protests will place pressure on the BC government.

The BC Union of Indian Chiefs demand a moratorium on old growth logging and have called on the BC government to support the 14 recommendations for the Old Growth Strategic Review commissioned by the government last summer. The report recommends that conservation and biodiversity become the principal value for future forest management, overriding industrial logging. Although the government also endorsed the report’s recommendations during the recent election campaign, logging old growth continues with no commitment to end it for the coming decade.

Old Growth forests are also key to storing vast amounts of carbon. Forest ecologist, Jim Pojar explains the importance of old growth and the changes in current forest management practices to convert forests from being a carbon source to a carbon sink. Biodiversity will help reduce carbon released from forest fires and increase security of watersheds from drought and floods.

British Columbia has developed a world-class system of parks and protected areas. Tory Stevens, a park ecologist, explains the vital contribution these parks play in not only preserving biodiversity but also providing a wide range of outdoor recreation experiences for the world.

This webinar explores real solutions to reversing the decline in forest biodiversity with leading experts who are re-imagining forest management and park stewardship.

“You are doing good, important work with great skill.
We appreciate joining with you in this great venture.”
– Colin Campbell, President, Elders Council for Parks in BC

Presenter Links

Fairy Creek Blockade
Rainforest Flying Squad Facebook Page
Rainforest Flying Squad Public Facebook Group
Kaaren Lewis: Special Advisor to the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change on Nature Agreements with the federal government.
Ecoforestry Institute Society

Additional Q&A

Q. What about Creatively United working with the indigenous communities and young people of the province to establish an Old Growth Charter to be led by the Province for its contribution to COP 26. This Charter would set the case for sustainable management of BC forests generally, but would establish the permanent case for high profile protection of OGFs under the basis of the Dasgupta principles of biodiversity and wellbeing budgets.

A. Jon O’Riordan: We crafted a letter on a New Framework for Forests in British Columbia. This letter can form the basis of a new charter.

A. Kathy Code: The Ecoforestry Institute Society, co-authors of this Call for a New Framework will be hosting a Spring Conference to discuss an approach and how we might implement it.

Q. Can you discuss the increase in jobs that would be possible if the approach to forestry was regenerative, and community-managed?

A. Kathy Code: There’s a wealth of jobs available in a regenerative community-managed economy: naturalists, biologists, botanists, ethnobotanists, ecologists, trail builders, tour guides, educators, foragers, wood crafters, artisans, poets, photographers, health and wellness practitioners, conservationists, restorationists, accommodation operators, restaurant owners, language keepers, medicine and salve makers, food producers, tea makers, wildlife experts, bird watchers, writers, scientists, mappers, academics, film makers, trades people, administrative staff, strategic planners, etc. Best of all, these jobs are available year after year, not just on a one-time basis, as happens in a clear-cut model.

A. Jon O’Riordan: Ecological specialties; tourism; value added wood products; carbon stewardship.

A. Tory Stevens: Indigenous management, art and guiding.

Q. Can you discuss briefly the importance of planting the RIGHT KIND of trees – not monoculture, and not trees that are not indigenous?

A. Kathy Code: From the Ecoforestry Institute Society point of view, the best regenerative forestry is to let Mother Nature do the job for us. It’s more difficult in these times of clear cut forestry, where tree planters are having to return to a site numerous times to restock it. Drought, hard packed soil, loss of soil nutrients and fungi, lack of shade all make it more difficult, but over time the regenerative process begins to take hold. Mother Nature knows how to build the web of life that keeps everything thriving and sustainable. We don’t know enough about this cycle to be able to replicate it.

Q. Are there good examples of successful retraining programs to move loggers to a more sustainable way of making a livelihood?

A. Kathy Code: Unfortunately none exist at the moment. The Ecoforestry Institute Society intends to develop a school of ecoforesty, but that will take some time yet. We do plan on holding workshops when we’re able to do so safely again.

Q. What is the impact of expanding human populations on the forest management and the strengthening and importance and influence of biodiversity?

A. Jon O’Riodan: To date humans have removed trillions of trees for land clearing, urban development and agriculture. There has to be a huge tree planting commitment to replace these trees – Canada has pledged to plant 2 billion trees — plus protection of remaining old growth forest to sustain biodiversity. A new approach is called re- wilding where forests are managed back into old growth.

A. Tory Stevens: Human population growth cannot continue indefinitely and still hope for a balance with the rest of biodiversity. Humans and their domestic animals now make up an alarming 96% of the biomass of mammals on the planet.

Q. Can you discuss briefly the importance of planting the RIGHT KIND of trees – not monoculture, and not trees that are not indigenous?

A. Tory Stevens: The right kind of tree is going to be defined by anticipating the climate in 50-100 years rather than duplicating the species that are currently in a specific place.

Q. This re-imagination of Super Natural British Columbia is potent: https://youtu.be/92NRtbefw5Q. Can you discuss the loss of tourism dollars that will result once there are no old-growth forests left to attract tourists?

A. Tory Stevens: Tourism has bypassed forestry in terms of income for the province. For every dollar spent on protected areas, 8 dollars comes into the province. Of course they come for mountains and wilderness of all kinds, but old growth is scarce to non-existent in most of the continent, so BC is a draw for those in search of that kind of awe.

Q. Canada and BC (I think) have pledged to follow the UNDRIP for the benefit of Indigenous Peoples without taking rights away from non-Indigenous peoples. Can this be used in the courts to require companies like Teal which has a contract from BC to log?

A. Jon O’Riordan: I understand that UNDRIP is not retroactive. This exiting licenses such as Teal Jones has been authorized to log Fairy Creek is not subject to UNDRIP principles.

A. Tory Stevens: The BC legislature has passed DRIPA…the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.

Q. What can we do to support greater political will to strengthen parks management?

A. Tory Stevens: Political will comes from the people. If there is a ground swell of understanding and support from enough constituents, the political will follows.

Q. The conversation seems to be fossilized in a perspective of binary “us” vs. “them”… and is only a reflection of a previous era that got us into this strange dichotomy… What is the new economy that strives to understand the fullness and wholeness of all life on the planet?

A. Kathy Code: The new regenerative economy such as that envisioned by Dr. Kate Raworth and her Doughnut Economics model. This model places an emphasis on inclusiveness and social justice, all while living within ecological parameters. No one is left behind. It’s an economy where loggers can co-exist peacefully with ecotourists.

A. Jon O’Riordan: Agreed. New integrated planning has to find a balance point across economic recovery; reconciliation; climate change and adaptation and conservation and stewardship.

Q. What is the economic value of intact ecosystems? How much is for water supply (e.g. in greater Victoria)? How do these numbers compare to the industrial destruction?

A. Jon O’Riordan: Recently a post authored by Dasgrupta has tackled the value of intact ecosystems.

A. Kathy Code: The value of intact systems stretches far beyond a monetary value. What value can we place on air and water when we cannot exist without them? Intact ecosystems provide us with a richness of gifts and services, and a web of life that we do not yet fully understand. We must turn from a GDP based model to one that values those gifts that allow us to live fully and sustainably. Today’s development projects do not count in the true costs of the end result of their projects such pollution, clean up, floods, devastated landscapes. Using taxpayer money to clean up these catastrophes amounts to ongoing subsidies to business. The current system is one that has things backwards — the values of the ecology must be the overriding factors. The Indigenous peoples have well understood this over millennia: Never take more than you need; never take it all.

A. Tory Stevens: Putting a value on ecosystems is fraught. What is the value of your mother? Attempts have been made to put a value on this “natural capital” and they are always extraordinarily large numbers. In 1997 Robert Costanza estimated the world’s ecosystems were worth 33 trillion dollars. An intact Canadian boreal forest has been estimated to have an annual value of US$93.2 billion which is 2.5 times the annual value of the resources removed.