April 5, 2001
In what was hailed by Greenpeace as “the most significant rainforest conservation measure in the history of North America,” seven million acres of ancient rainforest in British Columbia will be protected or put into deferral.
The British Columbian government moved to protect valleys within the Great Bear Rainforest while reaching an agreement with native First Nations groups on land-use planning in the province’s central and north coast regions.
The Central Coast region of British Columbia is home to over 4,400 people – mostly First Nations groups – and features coastal temperate rainforests and pristine watersheds, rugged shorelines and steep mountainous terrain. It ranges from Bute Inlet in the south to Princess Royal Island in the north – including the coastal near-shore waters – and much of Tweedsmuir Park to the east.
The announcements mark the latest milestones in British Columbia’s 10-year land-use planning program, which seeks to place more responsibility for regional land-use planning in the hands of local communities and residents.
In creating the 96,458-hectare Spirit Bear protection area on Princess Royal Island, the government is protecting essential habitat for the Spirit Bear – a rare white subspecies of black bear – and recognizing the cultural significance of the area to the Kitasoo and Gitga’at First Nations.
“The area referred to as the Great Bear Rainforest is an icon of the unique environmental and cultural values British Columbia can share with the world,” said Premier Ujjal Dosanjh.
The British Columbia government also signed an agreement on interim measures and land-use planning with six First Nations groups. This protocol agreement covers an area ranging from Cape Caution in the south to the Alaska border, including Haida-Gwaii, with a population of about 80,000.
Other areas of agreement stemming from the coastal land-use process include:
- The designation of protection, operating and “option” areas, as well as special management zones for visual quality.
- Further implementation of so-called “ecosystem-based” logging in operating areas that seeks to encourage a viable future for forestry on the coast while ensuring the coexistence of healthy ecosystems and human communities. This principle has been agreed to by forest companies operating in the Central Coast region.
- While land-use planning continues, Forest Renewal BC will contribute $10 million for short-term mitigation. It is anticipated that government, the forest industry and the environmental community will share in the costs of longer-term community transition strategies.
- Creation of an independent information team to examine outstanding issues and make recommendations to the land-use planning tables. The team must consider ecological and socio-economic impacts.
Resolution of outstanding land-use issues and final boundaries will take between 12 and 24 months. Any final decisions by government in response to the final land-use recommendations will be made in consultation with First Nations.
Environmentalists, including David Suzuki and Greenpeace, hailed the announcement as a victory for wilderness advocates.