Environmental groups want BC to refocus measures to protect old-growth forests

Two environmental groups are calling for better protection of old-growth forests from the BC Government.

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) and Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) are calling on the province to refocus their measures, implement their draft biodiversity, and Ecosystem Health Framework to ensure a transition to a sustainable forest industry.

Executive Director of EEA Ken Wu said there is two directions the government can go in response to tariff threats from the U.S.

“Either take the easy but foolish route by falling back on the destructive status quo of old-growth logging and raw low exports, or instead take the opportunity to invest in a modernized, sustainable, value-added, second-growth forest industry that is the future of forestry in BC, while protecting the last old-growth forests.”

AFA and EEA have released a list of things they want the provincial government to do:

• Establish a BC Protected Areas Strategy
• Develop Ecosystem-Based Protection Targets
• Provide solutions space funding to First Nations
• Ensure a transition to sustainable logging of second-growth forests
• Closing logging loopholes by ending logging in forest reserves
• Expand a smart forest industry by incentivizing value-added second-growth manufacturing
• Create a BC Conservation Economy Strategy to support eco-tourism
• The groups are also issuing a warning which commercial logging must not be permitted in protected areas under the guise of wildfire risk reduction.

AFA Campaign Director TJ Watt said the BC Government should be thanked for its commitment to protect 30 per cent by 2030, but it still comes up short on both conservation policies and sustainable job creation.

“We urge the province to move forward, not backward, to build a diversified, resilient economy in B.C. while undertaking the vital and overdue protection of endangered ecosystems.”

– story done by My Cowichan Valley Now staff