Good news for the Great Bear Rainforest
A shining beacon of good news broke through the cloud of economic gloom last week. With the province’s announcement of a management plan now in place for the Great Bear Rainforest, British Columbians can celebrate a major ecological accomplishment on B.C.’s central and north coast. The globally important wild area is home to thousands of species of plants, birds, and animals, including the rare white Kermode “spirit bear.”
The “Ecosystem-Based Management system,” released March 31, 2009, is the product of three years of collaboration. Since 2006, the province has been working with environmental and community groups and coastal First Nations to find ways to balance environmental protection in the area with the need for sustainable jobs and the economic interests of coastal communities.
Representatives of 20 First Nations groups, and environmental groups such as Greenpeace Canada, ForestEthics, and the Sierra Club BC, endorse the new plan. Industry and local municipalities are also on board with the five-year plan.
Under this new commitment, 20,000 square kilometres in the area is now legally protected from logging. Roughly 64,000 square kilometres—an area larger than some countries—will be part of a combined land use planning area. The management plan includes $120-million for First Nations communities to help develop a conservation economy as an alternative to traditional logging. A new regulated system of low-impact logging will conserve half of the natural range of old growth in the region.
“A vision born from environmental and economic necessity is becoming a reality on Canada’s west coast,” said Stephanie Goodwin of Greenpeace in a written statement. “It’s a conservation model that other parts of the world can look to, a model that shows how protection of ecological values and human well-being can be advanced without undermining each other.”