Great Bear Rainforest - History

History

In the early 1990s environmentalists launched a large scale campaign to protect the Clayoquot Sound region of Vancouver Island. After years of conflict the British Columbia (BC) government announced a ban on clear-cutting in the Clayoquot rainforests and began a local planning process that incorporated First Nations of the area and independent scientists. The Clayoquot Sound campaign became the model for the Great Bear Rainforest campaign. Techniques used at Clayoquot Sound were further developed and new approaches adopted, such as international marketing campaigns, improved mapping technologies, and the use of large scale holistic ecosystem-based management models. In 1997 the central and northern BC coastal region was renamed "Great Bear Rainforest" by a network of ENGOs (environmental nongovernmental organizations), for the purpose of galvanizing an international campaign for its protection. The name, which was chosen without consulting local residents, was by 2005 being used by many organizations, including news media outlets. As Meureen Gail Reed writes, "the emotive significance of such a name cannot be underestimated".

In May 2004, after years of conflict and negotiation, the various stakeholders agreed to recommend the BC government that about 3,500,000 acres (14,000 km2), about 33% of the Great Bear Rainforest, be put under some form of protection, and that new forms of ecosystem-based forestry be required throughout the rainforest. This fell short of the scientific recommendations, which had concluded that 44%–70% should be protected. The recommendation given to the BC government was a compromise solution agreed to by the many stakeholders after years of difficult negotiations. The stakeholders include provincial and local governments; many BC First Nations such as the Heiltsuk and Homalco; the ENGOs Greenpeace, ForestEthics, and Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter; and forestry corporations such as Canadian Forest Products, Catalyst Paper Corporation, International Forest Products, Western Forest Products; and many others.

On 7 February 2006 a comprehensive protection package was announced for the Great Bear Rainforest, which was defined to include the central and north coasts of BC and Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). The Great Bear Rainforest Agreement included four key elements: rainforest protection, improved logging practices, the involvement of First Nations in decision making, and conservation financing to enable economic diversification. The final agreement banned logging in 33% of the Great Bear Rainforest and made a commitment to implement ecosystem-based forestry management for the entire Great Bear Rainforest by 2009.

The 2006 agreement between the BC government and a wide coalition of conservationists, loggers, hunters, and First Nations established a series of conservancies stretching 400 kilometres (250 mi) along the coast. The proposed protected areas will contain 18,000 square kilometres (6,900 sq mi), and another 46,900 square kilometres (18,100 sq mi) that is to be run under a management plan that is expected to ensure sustainable forest management.

The Canadian government announced on 21 January 2007 that it will spend CAD$30m for protection of this rainforest. This matches a pledge made previously by the British Columbia provincial government, as well as private donations of $60 million, making the total funding for the new reserve $120 million.

In the autumn of 2008, Greenpeace, Sierra Club of Canada (BC Chapter), and ForestEthics launched an online campaign titled, "Keep the Promise," to put public pressure on Gordon Campbell, then Premier of British Columbia, to honour the Great Bear Rainforest agreement in its entirety. The groups were concerned that certain aspects of the agreement, including implementation of ecosystem-based management, will not materialize in time for the government's own final implementation deadline of March 31, 2009.

The area is currently in the media due to the Northern Gateway Pipelines project, which if approved, would bring crude oil tanker traffic regularly passing through the channels of the area.