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More than a quarter million people from around the world call on the BC government to save old-growth forests

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They are joined by 39 NGOs from Asia, Africa, South and North America, Europe and Australia.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

October 13, 2021

Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ territories (VANCOUVER, BC) — More than 260,000 people from nearly every country in the world have signed a petition calling on the B.C. government to “stop the felling of ancient giants and protect British Columbia’s temperate old-growth forests.”

The petition was started by the Germany-based environmental organization Rainforest Rescue with support from Sierra Club BC, and was signed by residents of Europe, Canada, the U.S., Mexico, Russia, Indonesia, the Philippines, India, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina, Columbia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and almost all other countries in the world.

In addition to the petition, the B.C. government received an open letter today that is co-signed by Sierra Club BC, Rainforest Rescue and 37 NGOs from Asia, Africa, South and North America, Europe and Australia, just weeks ahead of COP26, the crucial UN climate conference kicking off in Glasgow on October 31, 2021.

The letter (which can be found here or at the bottom of this page) calls on the provincial government to keep its promise and safeguard the last remaining old-growth forests in B.C., “which are among the most endangered on the planet.”

“Deforestation and environmental destruction are a global catastrophe that fuels the climate crisis and accelerates the sixth mass extinction of species. Unfortunately, the B.C. government ignores its global responsibility to protect some of the last old-growth forests in the Western hemisphere,” said Mathias Rittgerott, a spokesperson with Rainforest Rescue.

“In many parts of the world, particularly in the global south, Indigenous Peoples are working tirelessly to protect the world’s forests. Many forest defenders risk their life, and some even lose their life, for this greater good. Meanwhile, the B.C. government bows to the short-term economic interests of a few companies. We can’t fight the climate crisis and mass extinction without protecting the world’s forests. B.C. must do its share—or we will all fail,” added Rittgerott.

“The ravaging of the world’s remaining forest ecosystems irrespective of their location is a global pandemic that calls for localized global action across nations,” said Dr. Martins Egot, Executive Director of Development Concern in Nigeria.

Mapping and analysis by independent B.C. scientists shows that after decades of industrial clearcutting only a small fraction of old-growth forests with big trees and irrecoverable ecological, cultural and carbon values remains standing in B.C. and even less is protected from logging.

The B.C. government shared its Old-Growth Panel report and Premier John Horgan committed to implementing all of the panel’s recommendations in the fall of 2020. The panel called on the province to work with Indigenous governments to transform forest management within three years, including immediate action to protect at-risk old-growth forests and a paradigm shift away from a focus on timber value towards safeguarding biodiversity of all forests in B.C.

One year later, most at-risk forests in B.C. remain open to logging and despite repeated remarks from the provincial government about an end-of-summer announcement, concerned communities are still waiting for interim protection for all endangered old-growth. In the meantime, police violence and arrests continued on Southern Vancouver Island where arrests of forest defenders surpassed 1,100, making it Canada’s biggest-ever act of civil disobedience.

“There are few places in the world that could do so much to save old-growth forests, uphold the rights of Indigenous People, save biodiversity and slow down the climate crisis all at the same time. International petitions and letters are a powerful reminder that the world is watching the old-growth emergency in British Columbia, said Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “The final weeks before the UN climate conference in Glasgow are a crucial time for the B.C. government to change course, show leadership and inspire other parts of the world to do the same.”

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For media inquiries, please contact:

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner, Sierra Club BC
604-354 5312, jens@sierraclub.bc.ca

Mathias Rittgerott, Rainforest Rescue (based in Montreal, QC)
514-803-9070, mathias.rittgerott@regenwald.org

Dr. Martins Egot, Executive Director, Development Concern (based in Nigeria)
Can be contacted via Rainforest Rescue

***

 

Open Letter to the BC Government:

 

 

October 13, 2021

Dear Premier Horgan,

We the undersigned—39 non-government organizations from Asia, Africa, South- and North
America, Europe and Australia—are writing you together with more than a quarter million
people from around the world to appeal to the government of British Columbia to keep your
promise and safeguard the threatened old-growth forests of this province, which are among
the most endangered of the planet.

The globally rare old-growth forests in B.C., as well as the biodiversity and Indigenous
knowledge and cultures linked to them, do not exist anywhere else and are irreplaceable. When
these forests are cut, they will not grow back to the same grandeur and diversity in our
lifetimes.

Shockingly, after decades of industrial clearcutting, old-growth forests with big trees have been
reduced to a small fraction of their original extent in this province, and the majority of what
remains standing is still without protection. Your government continues to allow some of the
tallest trees in the world to be cut down for short-term profit.

We are appalled by the images of police violence against Indigenous youth and other peaceful
land defenders and the reports about hundreds of people being arrested to enable clearcutting
of ancient forests for short-term profit in B.C.

In many countries, especially in the global south, Indigenous Peoples, civil society and
governments are working tirelessly to protect the world’s forests which are home to millions of
people, indispensable allies in the fight against the climate crisis, and the source of enormous
biodiversity. Many forest defenders risk their life for this greater good, and some even lose
their life.

Canada, as a country with one of the largest forest areas on Earth, has a responsibility to lead
the fight to save forests. This is especially true since Canada’s population has contributed more
to the climate crisis than many other countries. Within Canada, no other province other than
B.C. could do more to protect rare, carbon-rich old-growth forests. To date, Canada and B.C. are
failing to live up to their responsibilities, because of companies based in your country and
province are involved in reckless resource extraction and environmental destruction—at home
and around the globe.

Protecting the remaining ancient forests in B.C. matters to people around the world and for the
future of all life on Earth. We cannot address the interlinked climate, biodiversity and social
justice crises without protecting and restoring them.

Despite your promise to take short-term action for endangered old-growth forests, clearcutting
of some of the tallest trees in the world continues unabated. It is time for your government to
lead on old-growth protection and to inspire other countries to do the same.

In light of the escalating climate and biodiversity emergencies around the world, including in
your province, we are calling on you to immediately defer logging of all at-risk old-growth
forests and implement long-term conservation solutions that respect the rights of Indigenous
Peoples, as promised by your government.

 

Sincerely,

Ancient Forest Alliance, Canada, Ian Illuminato, Forest Campaigner

ARA / denkhausbremen, Germany, Wolfgang Kuhlmann, Director

Borneo Orangutan Survival – BOS Deutschland, Germany, Daniel Merdes, CEO

Both Ends, Netherlands, Paul Wolvekamp, Senior policy advisor

CALG – Coalition against land grabbing, Philippines, Sisang Dela Cruz, Assistant to the Executive
Director

Congo Basin Conservation Society (CBCS), DRC, Josue Aruna, Executive Director

Devcon – Development Concern, Nigeria, Martins Egot, Executive Director

Earth Island Institute, Canada, Dominick DellaSala, Chief Scientist

Ecodevelop, Germany, Hans Christian Offer, Forest ecologist

Fern, EU / Belgium, Julia Christian, Campaigner

FLIGHT – Protecting Indonesia’s Birds, Indonesia, Marison Guciano, Executive Director

Friends of the Earth United States, USA, Jeff Conant, S. International Forest Program Manager

Global Justice Ecology Project, USA, Anne Petermann, Executive Director

Jatam – Mining Advocacy Network, Indonesia, Moh. Taufik, Bachelor of Law

Kené Instituto de Estudios Forestales y Ambientales, Peru, Lucila Pautrat Oyarzún, President

National Assoc. of Professional Environmentalists (NAPE), Uganda, Frank Muramuzi, Executive
Director

NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark, Denmark, Mads Kjærgaard Lange, secretary

Northern Confluence Initiative, Canada, Nikki Skuce, Director

Oakland Institute, USA, Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director

Partnership for Policy Integrity, USA, Mary S. Booth, Director

Perkumpulan Hijau, Indonesia, Feri Irawan, Direktor

Quercus – ANCN, Portugal, Alexandra Azevedo, President

Rainforest Rescue, Australia, Branden Barber, CEO

Rainforest Resource and Development Centre (RRDC), Nigeria, Odey Oyama, Executive Director

Réseau CREF, DRC, François Biloko, Secrétaire Général

Rettet den Regenwald, Germany, Marianne Klute, Chairwoman

Robin Wood, Germany, Jana Ballenthien, Forest Campainer

SADIA, Malaysia, Matek Geramn, Indigenous rights defender

Save Estonia’s Forests, Estonia, Liina Steinberg, Member of board

Save Virunga, Netherlands/DRC, Tina Lain, Co-founder

Sierra Club British Columbia, Canada, Jens Wieting, Senior Forest Campaigner

The Gaia Foundation, UK, Carlotta Byrne, Earth Jurisprudence Program Coordinator

WALHI NTT – Eastern Sunda Islands, Indonesia, Umbu Wulang, Direktor

WALHI Papua, Indonesia, Aiesh Rumbekwan, Director

WATER – Wise Administration of Terrestrial Environment and Resources, Nigeria, Chief Edwin
Ogar, Program coordinator

West Kootenay EcoSociety, Canada, Kendra Norwood, Conservation Director

Wild Chimpanzee Foundation (WCF), Germany/Liberia, Prof. Christophe Boesch, Founder and
President

Wilderness Committee, Canada, Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director

Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative (Y2Y), Canada/USA, Candace Batycki, Program Director, BC and Yukon

200 organizations call for urgent provincial action to confront the climate emergency

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Broad coalition calls for urgent provincial action to confront the climate emergency.

September 28, 2021

Unceded xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh and səlilwətaɬ territories (VANCOUVER, BC) — In the wake of this summer’s deadly heatwave and unprecedented fires, today, nearly 200 organizations representing well over one million British Columbians – a diverse network of environmental, Indigenous, labour, health, business, faith, and youth groups – joined in a call to the BC government to fundamentally reboot its CleanBC plan and implement a genuine and transformative climate emergency plan.

Their open letter – “An Urgent Call to the BC Government to Confront the Climate Emergency” – calls on the government to demonstrate the necessary leadership and immediately undertake 10 bold emergency actions. (The open letter with the full list of organizational supporters follows below. It can also be found here.)

The list of signatories includes the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the First Nations Summit, and the BC Assembly of First Nations; labour organizations, including the Public Service Alliance of Canada (BC Region) and the Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC; faith groups, including the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster; health organizations such as the Public Health Association of BC; arts and culture groups; community groups such as the Coalition of Child Care Advocates of BC; youth groups such as the Sustainabiliteens; and businesses such as Patagonia, Lush Cosmetics and Renewal Funds.

The signatory list also includes major environmental organizations Stand.earth, Dogwood, Leadnow, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club BC, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, West Coast Environmental Law, and Climate Caucus (a network of municipal elected councillors committed to climate action).

“Simply put, CleanBC does not sufficiently address the severity of the climate crisis,” said Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs. “The allowances for dirty emissions from the fossil fuel sector and forestry will increase the deadly and devastating impacts that communities across the province and the world are experiencing, and are not going to help us pay for a just transition to a clean economy. The Province must fully accept that they need to come up with an alternative economy because we aren’t going to achieve a clean BC with dirty fossil fuels.”

Last month, Phillip was one of five original endorsers of CleanBC who, in a piece in the Tyee, signaled they had lost confidence in the ability of the province’s climate plan to adequately respond to the climate emergency.

“Emergencies require responses that look, sound and feel to the public like genuine emergency plans,” said Seth Klein, team lead with the Climate Emergency Unit. “The current BC approach doesn’t do that. It is lacking in ambition, urgency and coherence. The 10 actions in this open letter would constitute a real crisis response.”

The 10 actions include increasing the ambition of BC’s GHG reduction targets, boosting spending on climate actions, ending fossil fuel subsidies and new infrastructure, and significantly moving forward the dates for zero-emission vehicles and buildings.

“If we are going to have a coherent climate plan, BC needs to stop supporting the expansion of fracking and LNG,” said Tzeporah Berman, International Program Director. “CleanBC has some good bones but it cannot be successful if the BC government continues to pour money into growing fossil fuels. In 2020 alone, BC provided $1.3 billion in subsidies and incentives to the oil and gas industry, double what they spent on CleanBC. The government has broken its promise to show how LNG projects are consistent with the province’s legislated targets, and it is now clear that BC will never meet its GHG targets if this industry continues to expand.”

CleanBC was tabled three years ago and isn’t sufficient to address the crisis and reach our 2030 goals. Currently, BC’s heat-trapping carbon emissions are rising, not decreasing. This summer the crisis was underscored by an unprecedented heat dome; the BC Coroner reported nearly 600 British Columbians perished in one week, due to extreme heat.

“I still taste smoke from the firestorm that erased our house and 90% of Lytton as we fled that unexpected and unstoppable manifestation of the human-caused climate emergency,” said Gordon Murray, a former resident of Lytton whose home was destroyed this summer. “Political leaders need to confront this as an existential crisis, not a PR crisis – the time for non-binding goals and aspirational incentives is passed. We as a society need to mobilize at least on the scale of our COVID response to fight this unseen enemy, and the enemy is us.”

“Living through Covid-19, we now know that our government is totally capable of a large-scale emergency response.  Like the pandemic, the climate solutions are clear: we need to act on the science, and take responsibility.  We have to help transition workers in fossil fuel dependent, Indigenous and remote communities. Otherwise, we’re just going to escalate heat domes and wildfires,” said Severn Cullis-Suzuki, Executive Director at the David Suzuki Foundation.

This call comes as the BC cabinet prepares to consider how to update the CleanBC plan, ahead of the global climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland in November. More organizations will be adding their names to this call in the days to come. Others are invited to do so here.

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Images and cutlines are available here for media use.


For media inquiries, please contact:

Alexandra Woodsworth, Dogwood, alexandra@dogwoodbc.ca: 778-316-5558

Ziona Eyob, Stand.Earth, canmedia@stand.earth, +1 604 757 7279

Seth Klein, Climate Emergency Unit, 604-836-2272

Tracey Saxby, My Sea to Sky, 604-892-7501

Peter McCartney, Wilderness Committee, 778-239-1935

Anjali Appadurai, Sierra Club BC, anjali@sierraclub.bc.ca, 604-328-6443

***

 

Open Letter to the BC Government:

September 2021

Dear Premier Horgan and the Government of BC,

Re: Confront the Climate Emergency

We write on behalf of diverse environmental, Indigenous, labour, health, business, local government, academic, youth, and faith communities who collectively represent well over one million British Columbians.

We call on the BC government to recognize the urgency and alarm that people all over the province are feeling as the climate crisis directly impacts our communities and our health: deadly heat waves, wildfires, drought, floods, crop failure, fisheries collapse, and costly evacuations and infrastructure damage. These climate-related impacts are unprecedented and intensifying. Indigenous peoples stand to be disproportionately impacted by climate events despite successfully taking care of the land since time immemorial.

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a ‘code red’ for humanity. The International Energy Agency has called on world governments to immediately stop investments in and approvals of new oil and gas projects. The provincial government’s CleanBC climate action plan is insufficient to limit warming to 1.5°C and will not keep British Columbians safe from the worst impacts of climate change.

We therefore urge the BC government to develop and implement a transformative climate emergency plan that recognizes the interconnected climate, ecological, and social crises; embeds equity, anti-racism, and social justice at its core; and upholds Indigenous Title and Rights, and Treaty Rights.

To implement the rapid systemic change that is required, we call on the provincial government to demonstrate the leadership necessary to confront the climate emergency, and immediately undertake the following 10 actions:

  1. Set binding climate pollution targets based on science and justice
    Reduce BC’s greenhouse gas emissions by ~7.5% per year below 2007 levels. Set binding reduction targets of 15% by 2023; 30% by 2025; 60% by 2030, and 100% by 2040 (below 2007 levels). Review and update targets regularly as climate science evolves.
  2. Invest in a thriving, regenerative, zero emissions economy
    Invest 2% of BC’s GDP ($6 billion dollars per year) to advance the zero emissions economy and create tens of thousands of good jobs. Spend what it takes to immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create new economic institutions to get the job done. Ensure that the economic component of Aboriginal Title is recognized through the sharing of benefits and revenues that result.
  3. Rapidly wind down all fossil fuel production and use
    Immediately stop all new fossil fuel infrastructure including fracking, oil and gas pipelines, liquefied natural gas (LNG), and fossil fuel-derived hydrogen. Rapidly phase out and decommission all existing fossil fuel production and exports.
  4. End fossil fuel subsidies and make polluters pay
    End all fossil fuel subsidies and financial incentives by 2022. Ensure that those industries that profit from fossil fuel pollution pay their fair share of the resulting climate damage.
  5. Leave no one behind
    Ensure a just transition for fossil fuel workers, resource-dependent communities, and Indigenous and remote communities impacted by fossil fuel production. It will be critical to collaborate in true partnership with Indigenous peoples in climate action. Prepare our communities for the impacts of the climate crisis to minimize human suffering and infrastructure damage. Support those most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
  6. Protect and restore nature
    Protect 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030; support and invest in Indigenous-led conservation initiatives; restore natural ecosystems to enhance ecosystem functions and services, preserve biodiversity, increase carbon sequestration, and improve human and ecosystem resilience to climate impacts. Impose an immediate moratorium on the industrial logging of all old growth forests which are critical carbon sinks.
  7. Invest in local, organic, regenerative agriculture and food systems
    Incentivize carbon storage in soil, restore biodiversity, and ensure food sovereignty and food security across the province. Increase consumption of plant-based foods, and reduce food waste. Support Indigenous communities that wish to maintain traditional food systems and enhance their food security.
  8. Accelerate the transition to zero emission transportation
    Invest in affordable, accessible, and convenient public transit within and between all communities. Reallocate infrastructure funds from highway expansion to transit and active transportation (cycling, rolling, and walking). Mandate zero emissions for all new light vehicles by 2027, and all medium and heavy duty vehicles by 2030.
  9. Accelerate the transition to zero emission buildings
    Ban new natural gas connections to all new and existing buildings by the end of 2022. Create a Crown Corporation to mobilize the workforce to retrofit all existing buildings and eliminate fossil fuel heating by 2035, and to build new affordable zero emissions buildings.
  10. Track and report progress on these actions every year
    Embed all of these actions in legislation to ensure accountability, transparency, and inclusion. Establish rolling 5-year carbon budgets that decline over time towards zero emissions by 2040 or sooner.

Tackling the climate crisis offers an unprecedented opportunity to generate new, vibrant economic and social wealth as we transform where our energy comes from and how it is used. It offers an opportunity to achieve energy security, ensure food security, develop more sustainable local economies and jobs, transform our buildings, redesign transportation, reduce pollution, improve  human health and wellbeing, and enhance our quality of life. The transition from fossil fuels to a zero emissions economy has clear benefits for people and natural ecosystems, and is an opportunity to create a more prosperous, just, and equitable society.

Every person, every business, every industry, and every government has a role to play as we coordinate individual and collective actions to create a thriving, resilient, and regenerative society that respects its interdependence with healthy ecosystems and a safe climate.

British Columbia is positioned to become a visionary world leader and demonstrate that innovative and rapid change is possible as we transition to a zero emissions economy.

We urge you to seize these opportunities, and demonstrate to British Columbians that our government is indeed a true climate leader by implementing the 10 climate emergency actions set out in this letter.

We must act now.

Sincerely,

Signatories (by sector)

Indigenous

British Columbia Assembly of First Nations
First Nations Summit
Gidimt’en Checkpoint
RAVEN
Union of BC Indian Chiefs

Arts / Culture

Brackendale Art Gallery
Canadian Media Producers Association (BC)
Claymates Ceramics Studio Inc.
Coalition of Museums for Climate Justice
Hummingbird Music Studio
Indian Summer Arts Society
Neworld Theatre
South Cariboo Arts and Culture Society
Spring Magazine
Women in Film and Television Vancouver

Business

1st Knowledge Bank Ltd
Audiopile Records
Barnacle Strategies Consulting
Bydand Wealth Management
Calmura Natural Walls Inc.
Climb On Equipment Ltd
Cool.World
Crowned Vitta LLC
Curio Research Ltd.
Drinkfill Beverages LTD
Earnest Ice Cream
Fresh Roots Urban Farm Society
Goldilocks Goods
Harvey McKinnon Associates
Hollyhock
KWENCH
Lush Cosmetics North America
Nada
New/Mode
OMC Inc.
Patagonia
Persephone Brewing Company
Rain or Shine Ice Cream
Redroof Enterprizes
Renewal Funds
Rethink2gether
Salish Soils Inc.
Sea To Sky Cable Cam Inc.
Squamish ReBuild Society
Sustainable Produce Urban Delivery (SPUD)
Tegan McMartin Photography
TREE WORLD Plant Care Products, Inc.
Vedalia Biological Inc.
Viridian Energy Coop
Visual Science

Community group

Alliance4Democracy (Sunshine Coast)
BC Hydro Ratepayers Association
Coalition of Child Care Advocates of B.C.
Council of Canadians (Campbell River Chapter)
Council of Canadians (Comox Valley Chapter )
Council of Canadians (Nelson Chapter)
Council of Canadians (Terrace Chapter)
Council of Canadians (Victoria Chapter)
Courage Coalition
Food Stash Foundation
Friends of Tilbury Working Group
Global Peace Alliance BC Society
Kaslo Community Action Team
Language Partners BC
Out Here Ski & Board Club
Philosophers Anonymous
South Asian Network for Secularism and Democracy (SANSAD)
South Park Family School
Tree of Life Nature Playschool
UNBC Outdoors Club

Health

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
Canadian Health Association for Sustainability & Equity (CHASE)
Doctors for Planetary Health (West Coast)
Inner Light Healing Arts
Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance
Public Health Association of BC

Faith

Anglican Diocese of New Westminster
Canadian Unitarians for Social Justice
First Unitarian Church of Victoria
Holy Cross and Saint Patricks RC Parishes
KAIROS (BC-Yukon Region)
Naramata Community Church
North Shore Unitarian Church Environmental Action Team
Salt Spring Island Unitarian Fellowship
Squamish United Church
Vancouver Unitarians
Yasodhara Ashram Society

Labour

Douglas College Faculty Association
Federation of Post-Secondary Educators
North Island College Faculty Association
Public Service Alliance of Canada (BC Region)
Worker Solidarity Network

Seniors

Canadian Senior Cohousing Society
Pacific Park Place Housing Cooperative
Squamish Seniors Society
Suzuki Elders

Youth

Douglas Students’ Union
My Sea to Sky Youth Council
Quest Student Environmental Committee
Reel Youth
Simon Fraser Public Interest Research Group (SFPIRG)
Students for Mining Justice
Sustainabiliteens
Take a Stand: Youth for Conservation

Environment / Climate action

350 Vancouver
Against Port Expansion in the Fraser Estuary
Alberni Climate Action
Alberni Valley Transition Town Society
Armstrong/Spallumcheen Climate Action
Association of Denman Island Marine Stewards
Association of Whistler Area Residents for the Environment
Babies for Climate Action (New Westminster)
Babies for Climate Action (Vancouver)
BC Climate Alliance
BC Nature
BC Sea Wolves
Below2C
Better Transit Alliance of Greater Victoria
Bowen Island Conservancy
British Columbia Cycling Coalition
Burnaby Climate Hub
Burnaby Residents Against Kinder MorganExpansion (BROKE)
Canadian Freshwater Alliance
Chase Environmental Action Group
Chemainus Climate Solutions
Citizen’s Climate Lobby (Okanagan Chapter)
Citizen’s Oil & Gas Council
Citizens’ Climate Lobby (Nelson-West Kootenay Chapter)
Climate Action Now!
Climate Caucus
Climate Emergency Unit
Climate Justice Victoria
Concerned Citizens Bowen
Cowichan Valley Naturalists
Creatively United for the Planet
David Suzuki Foundation
Denman Island Climate Action Network
Dogwood
First Things First Okanagan
For Our Kids (North Shore)
For Our Kids (Sunshine Coast)
For Our Kids (Vancouver)
Force of Nature (North Shore Community Action Team)
Georgia Strait Alliance
GOAL12 Sustainable Consumption and Production Society
Green Teams of Canada
HUB Cycling
Lawyers For Climate Justice
Leadnow
Living Forest Institute Society
Living Oceans Society
Mount Work Coalition
My Sea to Sky
Nanaimo Climate Action Hub
Net0world
North Okanagan Naturalists’ Club
OneEarth
Parents 4 Climate
Planetary Resilience Council of BC
Protect Our Winters Canada
Roots on the Roof
Saanich Eco Advocates
Salish Sea Renewable Energy Cooperative
Salt Spring Island Stream and Salmon Enhancement Society
Sea Smart
Shuswap Climate Action
Sierra Club BC
Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition
Squamish Climate Action Network (Squamish CAN)
Squamish Environment Society
Squamish Food Policy Council (SFPC)
Stand.earth
Sunshine Coast Conservation Association
Sunshine Coast Streamkeepers Society
Sustainability Action Group for the Environment
Synergia Institute
Transition Kamloops
Transition Salt Spring
Transition Sooke
Victoria Climate Hub
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
Watershed Watch Salmon Society
West Coast Climate Action Network (WE-CAN)
West Coast Environmental Law Association
West Kootenay EcoSociety
Wilderness Committee
Wildsight
Yellow Point Ecological Society
Zero Waste BC

NGO report card: One year after B.C. promised action, logging continues in almost all at-risk old-growth forests

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Report card raises alarm about predatory delay contributing to climate and extinction crises, lack of support for First Nations and forestry reforms, fuelling Canada’s biggest act of civil disobedience.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

September 9, 2021

VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) — One year after the B.C. government shared its Old-Growth Strategic Review (OGSR) report and Premier John Horgan committed to implementing all of the panel’s recommendations, Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee have released a report card assessing the province’s progress on their promise to protect old-growth forests.

The OGSR’s report, made public on September 11, 2020, called on the province to work with Indigenous governments to transform forest management within three years.

The panel recommendations include taking immediate action to protect at-risk old-growth forests and a paradigm shift away from a focus on timber value and towards safeguarding biodiversity and the ecological integrity of all forests in B.C. However, old-growth-related headlines in recent months have been dominated by police violence and arrests of forest defenders, rather than protection. As of this week, with at least 866 arrests, the fight to save what is left is now Canada’s biggest ever act of civil disobedience.

See a full version of the report card here: https://sierraclub.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021-September-OGSR-report-card-reduced-size.pdf

 

“The tough reality is that thousands of hectares of the endangered forests that Premier Horgan promised to save a year ago have been cut down since then,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “We’ve seen pitifully little concrete action to protect threatened old-growth, and ecosystems and communities are paying the price for the BC NDP government’s heel-dragging.”

In their report card, the organizations issued new grades on the B.C. government’s progress in five key areas, crucial for the implementation of the panel recommendations: immediate action for at-risk forests (F), the development of a three-year work plan with milestone dates (D), progress on changing course and prioritizing ecosystem integrity and biodiversity (F), funding for implementation, First Nations and forestry transition (D), and transparency and communication (F).

“Our assessment is as devastating as a fresh old-growth clearcut. The ongoing ‘talk and log’ situation combined with police violence and the escalating climate and extinction crisis can only be described as predatory delay,” said Jens Wieting, senior forest and climate campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “Premier Horgan’s failure to keep his promise has now fueled the largest act of civil disobedience in Canada’s history, larger than Clayoquot Sound, with no end in sight. People know that clearcutting the last old-growth is unforgivable”

“In the last six months, the B.C. government has failed to allocate any funding toward protecting old-growth, instead funnelling millions into police enforcement to clear a path for old-growth logging,” said Andrea Inness, forest campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance. “Without funding to support old-growth protection, the BC NDP government is forcing communities to make the impossible choice between revenue and conservation. They’re choosing inaction while the conflict in B.C.’s forests worsens.”

In July, the province created a technical expert panel to inform the next announcement of old-growth deferral areas. Repeated government remarks about new deferrals in the summer, that are yet to be announced, have sparked a glimmer of hope for science-based interim protection for all at-risk old-growth forests in B.C. in the near future.

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize their tens of thousands of supporters and hold the government accountable for its old-growth promises. The next report card will be issued on March 11, 2022.

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Download a PDF of the full report card here.

Download a JPEG version of the full report card here.

 

For more information, please contact:

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
604-354 5312, jens@sierraclub.bc.ca

Andrea Inness, Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance
778-953-5983 (text only), andrea@ancientforestalliance.org

Joe Foy, Protected Areas Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
604-880-2580, joe@wildernesscommittee.org

 

Teal-Jones on brink of violating Wildlife Act; risks destroying fragile western screech-owl forests

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Teal-Jones appears to be ignoring notice of confirmed screech-owl sightings during mating season in the Caycuse Valley and surrounding areas in Ditidaht and Pacheedaht territories

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 21, 2021 (Endangered Species Day)

VANCOUVER / UNCEDED xʷməθkʷəy̓əm, Sḵwx̱wú7mesh AND səlilwətaɬ TERRITORIES — Western screech-owls in Caycuse Valley area face imminent risk of logging, putting Teal-Jones at risk of contravening the Wildlife Act, according to a Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development (FLNRORD) biologist.

Western screech-owls (Megascops kennicottii) are occupying an area in the Caycuse Valley that is under threat of being logged. Royann Petrell, a retired UBC professor, has evidence of the threatened western screech-owls living in four locations throughout the Valley and neighbouring watersheds like Fairy Creek. She captured audio recordings and photos of the owls five times within the past two months.

“It’s incredible to know that threatened western screech-owls live here, but also worrying as their old-growth habitat is at risk of being logged,” said Donna Clark and Sara Ross of the Community Nest Finding Network. “Identifying and protecting their nesting sites is essential in saving a species that’s already lost so much habitat.”

Under the BC Wildlife Act it is an offence for anyone to harm, molest or destroy a nest that is occupied by a bird or egg. According to email correspondence with Royann, a biologist working for FLNRORD notified Teal-Jones that in order to ensure compliance with the Wildlife Act, they recommended they delay harvest at the Caycuse site until after breeding season.

“There are regulations in place, admittedly weak ones, that attempt to protect wildlife in B.C. from harm,” said Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. “If Teal-Jones cannot even respect the few laws to save at-risk wildlife, then perhaps it’s not a company that should operate here at all.”

Western screech-owls are listed under the federal Species at Risk Act (SARA) as threatened. Under SARA, responsibility is first given to the province to protect habitat and nests. But if B.C.’s laws do not effectively protect the species or the residence of its individuals, the federal minister of environment must recommend an order be made to protect the individuals and their nests.

“We have a law in Canada to protect wildlife at risk. A federal order to protect western screech-owl habitat is possible if B.C. fails on habitat protection,” said Dawe. “Both the B.C. government and Teal-Jones need to take recovery of at-risk wildlife seriously or risk federal intervention.”

Western screech-owls kennicottii subspecies rely on old-growth forests, where there is a high density of dead trees required for breeding and fewer predators.

“When old-growth gets destroyed for short-term economic profits we lose critical biodiversity habitat forever. Right now the only thing standing between western screech-owls and Teal-Jones chainsaws is forest defenders who are getting dragged off in cuffs by the RCMP,” said Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead at Sierra Club BC. “With the absence of any endangered species legislation in B.C. and a rarity of political leadership on the biodiversity crisis, it feels like the environment minister is also a rare and endangered species.”

Teal-Jones is poised to log several cutblocks in the upper Caycuse Valley. This week, the RCMP is enforcing an injunction against blockades that have prevented this logging to date, and have arrested over 20 people there in the last three days.

The groups are calling on Premier John Horgan to respect wildlife living in the forest and halt operations until wildlife biologists can complete studies to confirm habitat requirements for a stable population of owls in the region. At the very least, no further forestry activity should continue during the active breeding season.

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Media contacts:

Mark Worthing, Coastal Projects Lead | Sierra Club BC
mark@sierraclub.bc.ca, (250) 889-3575

Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner | Wilderness Committee
charlotte@wildernesscommittee.org, (778) 903-3992

Donna Clark | Community Nest Finding Network
donnaclarkbc@gmail.com, (778) 879 3711

 

 

Top banner photo by Aaron Maizlish (CC BY-NC 2.0)

BC not on track to meet milestones for old-growth, First Nations and forestry transition

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  

March 11, 2021

Environmental organizations issue report card six months after publication of Old-Growth Panel Recommendations. 

“VICTORIA (Unceded Lekwungen Territories) — Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and Wilderness Committee issued a report card today assessing the B.C. government’s progress on protecting old-growth forests. Today marks exactly six months since the provincial government published the report from its independent old-growth panel. Premier John Horgan promised to implement the panel’s recommendations “in their totality” shortly after.

2021_Old-Growth_ReportCard_Final

The panel called for a paradigm-shift to safeguard the biodiversity of forests in B.C. with a three-year framework, including logging deferrals for all at-risk old-growth forests within the first six months. Half a year later almost all at-risk forests remain open for logging and the B.C. government has not developed a plan with milestone dates and funding.

“Government promised a ‘new direction’ for old-growth forests and then spent six months dragging its heels and refusing to protect the most endangered stands,” said Andrea Inness, campaigner for the Ancient Forest Alliance. “The government published the recommendations six months ago, but it received the report containing them on April 30, 2020 — by any measure they’ve missed this crucial deadline.”

Endangered old-growth stands across the province continue to be targeted by logging companies and the exact forests the panel called for urgent action to protect are being lost. At the same time, the lack of a concrete plan is leaving First Nations and forestry workers with uncertainty about whether conservation, economic diversification and the transition to sustainable second-growth forestry will be adequately funded.

“As long as we continue to rely on a dwindling supply of endangered old-growth forests, B.C.’s forest sector will continue to face uncertainty and instability,” said Cam Shiell, environmental sustainability officer with the Public and Private Workers of Canada, a union that represents thousands of workers in the B.C. forest industry.

“The provincial government can’t delay action any longer, it must take meaningful steps to protect old-growth forests, lead the transition to sustainable, value-added second-growth forestry and create the forest industry of the future.”

The organizations’ report card grades progress on five key areas related to the 14 recommendations: immediate action for at-risk forests (D), three-year work plan with milestone dates (F), charting a new course prioritizing ecosystem integrity and biodiversity (F), funding for implementation, First nations conservation and forestry transition plans (F) and transparency and communication (F).

“Promising a new direction and then avoiding any meaningful action to ensure the most at-risk old-growth forests are protected is not a ‘paradigm shift,’ it’s the same old talk and log,” said Jens Wieting, forest and climate campaigner at Sierra Club BC. “The evidence is clear: Premier Horgan’s government is likely the last one with a chance to save the last old-growth forests as a legacy for future generations.”

In its initial response in September, the province acknowledged status quo management of old-growth forests had “caused a loss of biodiversity,” recognized the “need to do better” and announced nine deferral areas encompassing 353,000 hectares. Horgan and the BC NDP have claimed these deferrals ‘protected old-growth,’ but a closer review revealed most of this area is either already under some form of protection or is second-growth forest and still open to logging.

According to independent experts, as of 2020, only about 415,000 hectares of old-growth forest with big trees remain in B.C., mostly without protection. Only 3,800 hectares or one per cent of the remaining fraction of this kind of forest was included in the government’s deferral areas. Old-growth logging continues at an average rate of hundreds of soccer fields per day, always targeting the biggest accessible trees that remain.

The old-growth panel report found broad agreement for a paradigm-shift to respond to the biodiversity crisis in B.C.’s forests which reflects polling results showing more than 90 per cent support for old-growth protection. The lack of social license or free, prior and informed consent for continued old-growth logging in the province is also highlighted by the ongoing blockades at Fairy Creek on unceded Pacheedaht territory (southern Vancouver Island), which have been in place for seven months.

“Nothing the Horgan government has done so far is preventing the most endangered old-growth forests in the province from being mowed down, and the public knows it,” said Torrance Coste, national campaign director for the Wilderness Committee. “The BC government must immediately defer logging in at-risk old-growth and commit substantial funding to support the economic diversification of First Nations and forestry communities to ensure the long-term sustainability of both jobs and the environment.”

Ancient Forest Alliance, Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee will continue to mobilize their tens of thousands of supporters and hold the government accountable for its old-growth promises. The next report card will be issued on Sep. 11, 2021.

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For background and additional information click here.

For more information, please contact:

Torrance Coste, National Campaign Director, Wilderness Committee
torrance@wildernesscommittee.org

Jens Wieting, Senior Forest and Climate Campaigner/Science Advisor, Sierra Club BC
jens@sierraclub.bc.ca

Andrea Inness, Campaigner, Ancient Forest Alliance
andrea@ancientforestalliance.org

 

Spectacular ancient grove discovered in threatened Walbran Valley forest

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Environmentalists document “Black Diamond Grove” in recently approved cutblock

VICTORIA–Environmental activists with the Wilderness Committee and Sierra Club BC have found a remarkable old-growth forest grove in the Central Walbran Valley, an area threatened by planned logging.

The Black Diamond Grove is located inside logging company Teal Jones’ cutblock 4424, which was approved for logging by the BC government on September 18th despite widespread public opposition.
“We knew there were impressive old-growth trees in this area, but we were really blown away once we got in and explored,” said Torrance Coste, Vancouver Island Campaigner with the Wilderness Committee. “This type of old-growth is far too rare. There is absolutely no way the Black Diamond Grove should be logged.”
The grove, named for the steep slope it sits on, is unique because of its diversity of tree species. In addition to the monumental cedars that the Walbran Valley is famous for, the grove also contains massive Sitka spruce, hemlock, amabalis fir and even Douglas-fir trees.
The crown jewel of the Black Diamond Grove is the Leaning Tower Cedar, a western redcedar tree approximately three metres wide at its base. The Leaning Tower Cedar could be as old as 1,000 years – hundreds of years older than Italy’s Leaning Tower of Pisa, a protected landmark.
Among countless other benefits, old-growth forests sequester more climate-changing carbon than younger forests. BC’s coastal old-growth stores more carbon than any forest on the planet.
“Old-growth forests are our best ally in the fight against climate change, but we lose that benefit as companies like Teal Jones liquidate the last of it,” said Mark Worthing, Biodiversity Outreach Coordinator at Sierra Club BC. “If the government’s new Climate Leadership Team is serious about addressing climate change, protecting old-growth forests like the Black Diamond Grove is one of the simplest, easiest things it can do.”
Teal Jones’ plans to move into the Central Walbran have highlighted the plight of the last relatively intact unprotected old-growth forests on Vancouver Island, and have galvanized environmental groups and citizens who believe these ancient forests must be protected.
Many grassroots activists are considering blockades to stop the new logging, while the local group Friends of Carmanah-Walbran announced plans this week to establish a new Witness Camp in the Valley.
Sierra Club BC and the Wilderness Committee do not participate in civil disobedience but will continue to maintain a presence in the Walbran to monitor the situation and report back to the public. The organizations have been active on the issue throughout the summer, holding public meetings, rallies and building public support for the protection of the Walbran.
Thousands of citizens have written to BC Forest Minister Steve Thomson, calling on the government to put a hold on logging in the Central Walbran. The Minister has rejected multiple requests for meetings with the Wilderness Committee.
The Walbran is located in unceded Nuu-chah-nulth territory.

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For more information, please contact:
Torrance Coste | Vancouver Island Campaigner, Wilderness Committee
250-516-9900, torrance@wildernesscommittee.org
Mark Worthing | Biodiversity Outreach Coordinator, Sierra Club BC
250-889-3575, mark@sierraclub.bc.ca

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