FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (MUSQUEAM), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (SQUAMISH) AND səlilwətaɬ (TSLEIL-WAUTUTH) TERRITORIES/VANCOUVER – A new Sierra Club BC review of key forest trends in B.C. shows that, despite the limited area of intact forests left and a rapid increase of forest area burned (seven times the average in 2023), the rate of logging, both for old growth as well as overall forests, has remained at unsustainable levels in recent years. Despite these cumulative impacts, there is no comprehensive annual government overview on the state of the forests in B.C.  

Four years after the B.C. government’s announcement of the Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR), key forest trends show that old growth and overall forest health are declining faster than progress to protect at-risk forests and reform forestry practices. 

“Despite some progress, forests in B.C. have now entered uncharted territory due to the double impact of relentless clearcutting combined with record-breaking wildfire seasons and disasters fueled by climate change,“ said Jens Wieting, Senior Policy and Science Advisor at Sierra Club BC. “Whoever forms the next government in the fall of 2024 needs to take stronger action, because communities, biodiversity and a stable climate depend on intact forests.” 

When the provincial Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) shared results in 2021, they classified 20 percent of forests in B.C. as old growth (11.1 of 56.2 million hectares). Conservation science indicates that there is a high risk of biodiversity loss when less than 30 percent of an ecosystem remains intact.  

For more information see Sierra Club BC’s September 2024 Forest Trends Update.

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