Blog Archive Layout

Old-growth forests store 2-3 times more carbon per hectare than the ensuing second-growth tree plantations but are still threatened by logging in BC.

Searching for the ‘sweet spot’ in the carbon debate

Jan 26 2011/in News Coverage

In the recent global climate talks in Cancun, Mexico this past December, then Federal Minister of Environment, John Baird, said that conserving and managing our forests sustainably is “one of the most inexpensive ways to combat global warming and to see carbon reductions.”

The valuable contribution intact forests make in conserving natural carbon stores to help in the fight against climate change has been largely overlooked in BC. Like a bank account that can store carbon away for hundreds of years, the service of keeping carbon in the ground and out of the atmosphere, is provided free of charge by our intact forests. When forests are logged, the carbon-rich soils, forest floor, and woody biomass release much of that stored carbon into the atmosphere.

The British Columbia Greenhouse Gas Inventory Report 2008 reveals that logging and slash burning – although not officially included in the accounting — were responsible for 63,246,000 tons (gross) of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions. This is higher than the total greenhouse gas emissions from BC’s entire energy sector for that year — including emissions from road transportation, and fossil fuel and manufacturing industries.

Most climate change experts and conservation organizations, and a growing number of corporations and communities, agree that meeting robust targets to reduce greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, as soon as possible, must be a societal priority. For many companies and communities, it will take time to reduce carbon- and other greenhouse gas-intensive infrastructure. Fortunately, BC’s coastal and other primary forests store vast amounts of carbon for us now, when we need it, not decades into the future, such as when seedlings grow into trees.

High quality forest conservation carbon offsets are one financial tool that can prevent emissions of tremendous amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, thereby helping in the fight against global climate change. Used strategically, if the areas conserved are large enough and form part of a broad conservation network, these offset projects also have the potential to help protect species such as the grizzly, salmon, and birds as they struggle to survive the impacts of a changing climate. In addition, economic benefits from the sale of truly high quality forest conservation offsets flow to landowners or communities — including First Nations — which can improve human well-being and provide a conservation-based economic alternative to land degradation.

Forest offsets for carbon emissions, and carbon offsets generally, can be a greenwash marketing strategy if not coupled with concurrent measures to make ever-increasing and real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Added to that, there are ‘good’ projects that meet the intended objectives and there are others that fall flat, giving all carbon offset projects a bad rap. This is why it’s incredibly important to recognize and support ‘good’ projects. For that, we need to have standards for carbon offsets that are rigorous – so that we can trust the projects and help the climate.

BC has some of the world’s most carbon-rich forests – one needn’t look farther than western Vancouver Island and all along BC’s emerald coastline. If BC can find the “sweet spot” wherein species habitat and the ecosystem services that ensure our survival – such as natural carbon storage — can be protected, and wherein conservation of more forest can provide alternate, revenue streams for community well-being, shouldn’t that be of great interest to all British Columbians? The Tofino District Council and the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce — both of which exist and operate within the Clayoquot Sound UNESCO Biosphere Reserve — have recently sent in letters of support for forest carbon offset projects that conserve intact forests.

The deadline for the BC Ministry of Environment to receive public comments on the draft Forest Carbon Offset Protocol is fast-approaching. It is important that they establish rigorous standards for all forest offset projects that result in ‘real’ avoided or reduced emissions, or in robust greenhouse gas removals, and at minimum, do not cause net environmental harm.

Marlene Cummings is the BC Forest Campaigner with ForestEthics, and has a Master of Science in Environmental Planning from the University of British Columbia.

Link to original article: https://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/communityofinterest/archive/2011/01/27/searching-for-the-sweet-spot-in-the-carbon-debate.aspx

Ken James of the Youbou TimberLess Society (YTS)

Film series turns eye to Youbou closure

Jan 24 2011/in Announcements

It will have been 10 years on Wednesday, Jan. 26 since TimberWest’s Cowichan Sawmwill at Youbou closed.

A total of 220 families lost their jobs that day.

As is often the case in that sort of situation, many of the workers who had hung onto their jobs to the end had 25 or more years of service.

According to the Youbou Timberless Society (YTS), founded by former employees after the closure, many never found future employment.

Those that did find work in other sawmills still suffered the fate of their friends as mill after mill closed on the Island and all across B.C.

The YTS aimed both to fight against the mill closure and, going forward, to try to improve the situation of forest-dependant communities.

Its goals from 10 years ago remain strong today, according to group stalwart Ken James.

“With over 200 paid up members we continue to work with other groups, often behind the scenes now, to promote our ideas of sustainable, profitable, forestry that will leave a standing forest behind for future generations,” he said this week.

“One of the most rewarding things we have been able to accomplish was uniting groups that were previously opposing each other on forest issues. To bring most of the environmental lobby onside with forest workers, was no small accomplishment.”

Anyone interested in learning what the group is doing now, 10 years after, should attend a special evening Thursday, Jan, 20 at 7 p.m. at the United Church Hall, when the Eye Opener film series will show two short videos about log exports.

One of the films was made by graduating students from Lake Cowichan Secondary School and the other was produced by the Youbou TimberLess Society itself.

Following the showings, there will be a time for discussion and reflection of the last 10 years and what has happened to the Cowichan Valley’s once vibrant forest economy.

Ancient Forest Alliance’s One Year Anniversary, Organization Prepares for Province Wide Tour

Jan 19 2011/in Announcements, Media Release

The Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) reached its one year anniversary today, after being launched at a press conference in the old-growth forests of Francis King Regional Park in Victoria a year ago (see AFA news archives at https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/recent-news/). Since then the non-profit environmental organization has become perhaps the fastest growing environmental group in BC, snowballing to 18,000 supporters through Facebook and by email, and garnering hundreds of news stories in the media on its campaigns.

“We’ve grown so fast, like a young spruce in the sunlight alongside a rainforest river, because we’ve had perfect growing conditions. Today, the vast majority of people on Vancouver Island and increasingly across BC, get it – that we need to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests for wildlife, the climate, and tourism, while ensuring sustainable second-growth forestry and ending raw log exports to protect BC forestry jobs,” stated Ken Wu, the AFA’s executive director. “It’s a minority opinion to still say ‘let’s take it to the end of the resource and export the raw logs.’ 15 years ago, this was not necessarily the case.”

The currently leaderless BC Liberal and BC NDP parties presents an opportunity for change in BC politics, and as such the AFA will be pushing hard for strong old-growth forest and forestry jobs policies within both parties. As part of the organization’s “100,000 Strong for Ancient Forests and BC Forestry Jobs” public education and mobilization campaign, the AFA is launching a slideshow tour to dozens of communities throughout the province, starting in early February, to build public pressure on the parties. The BC Liberals currently contend that BC’s old-growth forests are not endangered and raw log exports should continue, while the NDP is calling for a provincial old-growth strategy (how much protection this would entail has not been specified yet) and increased restrictions on raw log exports. The Green Party is calling for a phase-out of old-growth logging and to ban raw log exports

Over the past year the AFA has organized a torrent of public hikes, slideshows, rallies, protests, petition drives, and letter-writing campaigns on Vancouver Island and in the Lower Mainland. On university campuses and in provincial swing ridings, it has also helped to empower and train new forest activists.

A particular strength of the organization is the spectacular nature photography of AFA campaigner and co-founder TJ Watt, whose photos of Vancouver Island’s old-growth trees and giant stumps are increasingly being featured in national and international media publications. See some of Watt’s magnificent photos at the AFA’s online photogallery at:

https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

“By photographing BC’s largest trees and stumps, often in the hinterland along rough logging roads that few people traverse, we’ve been able to bring the ancient forests – and their clearcut devastation – to the homes of millions of people. We’ve sort of become the eyes and ears of the forest to alert people of what’s going on in one of the world’s most spectacular and endangered ecosystems,” states TJ Watt. “Many Canadians still don’t know that we have trees that can grow nearly twice the height of Niagara Falls with trunks as wide as a living room – and fewer realize they are still being cut down.”

The organization is perhaps best known for popularizing the “Avatar Grove”, an endangered stand of easily accessible, monumental old-growth redcedars and Douglas firs in close proximity to Port Renfrew. Within the Grove are several trees with spectacular, large burls growing out of their sides, including a burly cedar that has been dubbed “Canada’s Gnarliest Tree”. The campaign to save the Avatar Grove has garnered support from the Port Renfrew Chamber of Commerce, Sooke Regional Tourism Association, and from all levels of the region’s political representatives, including federal Liberal MP Keith Martin, provincial NDP MLA John Horgan, and Regional Director Mike Hicks. See photos at https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/photos-media/

The Ancient Forest Alliance is calling on the BC government to:

– Undertake a Provincial Old-Growth Strategy that will inventory and protect the remaining old-growth forests in regions where they are scarce (eg’s. Vancouver Island, Southern Mainland Coast, Southern Interior, etc.)

– Ensure the sustainable logging of second-growth forests, which now constitute the majority of forest lands in southern BC.

– End the export of BC raw logs to foreign mills in order to ensure a guaranteed log supply for BC wood processing facilities.

– Assist in the retooling of coastal BC sawmills and the development of value-added facilities to handle second-growth logs.

– Undertake new land-use planning processes to protect endangered forests based on new First Nations land-use plans, ecosystem-based scientific assessments, and climate mitigation strategies through forest protection

75% of the ancient forests have been logged on Vancouver Island (see “Before” and “After” Maps at https://staging.ancientforestalliance.org/ancient-forests/before-after-old-growth-maps/), while less than 10% of our productive forests are in protected in parks and Old-Growth Management Areas, and the situation is similar throughout southern BC. Tens of thousands of hectares of ancient forests fall each year in BC.

Old-growth forests are important for species at risk, the climate, tourism, supplying clean water, and for many First Nations cultures.

“Right now, with the unprecedented situation of both the BC Liberals and NDP being simultaneously leaderless, we have a first rate opportunity to push both parties to commit to new, strong policies to protect BC’s endangered old-growth forests and forestry jobs. We’ll give public credit to any politicians who move their party forward on these issues but we’ll also point out those who are firmly committed to the backwards, destructive status quo,” states Ken Wu.