The total area protected from the chainsaw equals 5 million acres, twice the size of Yellowstone Park and equal to 6300 of New York’s Central Park. This total includes new and previous protection areas, plus special no logging zones.
“Today, British Columbians are showing that it is possible to protect the environment and provide the economic foundation for healthy communities,” said Lisa Matthaus, Coast Campaign Coordinator for the Sierra Club of Canada,
BC Chapter. “This innovative rainforest agreement provides a real world example of how people and wilderness can prosper together.”
ForestEthics, Greenpeace and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter have worked toward this solution for almost a decade, using tactics that ranged from blockades to boycotts to boardroom negotiations, all in a bid to protect as much of the Great Bear Rainforest as possible.
“For more than a decade, all eyes have been on Canada’s rainforest,” said Amanda Carr, Greenpeace Forest Campaigner. “If today’s promises become reality, we’ll have a global model of sustainability, exactly what international customers of British Columbia wood tell us they want.”
This agreement represents hundreds of thousands of hours of dirt-under-the-fingernails work by one of the most unexpected alliances in Canadian history. It included a blue-ribbon science panel supported by governments, environmental groups and logging companies that developed specific recommendations to change logging practices.
“This agreement represents a revolution in the way we approach B.C.’s rainforests – it’s no longer just about logging, but about conservation, new economic ventures and community involvement,” said Merran Smith, Director BC Coastal Programs, ForestEthics. “But, we’ll be watching to ensure that today’s announcement results in real change on the ground. This is just the beginning.”
To date, almost half of a $120 million investment package has been raised by philanthropic donors for conservation and sustainable business ventures in First Nation territories. The BC government has committed $30 million to First Nations for economic development. We are hopeful that the federal government will join in this initiative.
The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement means:
1. 5 million acres is protected from logging
2. The application of better, lighter-touch forestry by March 2009
3. Comprehensive First Nations involvement in management over their entire traditional territory
4. The diversification of the economy based on conservation
www.savethegreatbear.org
Other contacts: For more information, and for b-roll (beta) and high res photos, please contact: Lisa Matthaus, Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter: (250) 888-6267 Amanda Carr, Greenpeace: (604) 839-8760 Merran Smith, ForestEthics: (604) 816-5636
