Conservation financing key to securing B.C.'s old-growth deferrals
A new conservation foundation is working to provide Indigenous and other land-based communities with funds to protect endangered ecosystems and build economic alternatives to the logging of at-risk old-growth forests.
It's unjust and impractical to expect communities that rely on revenue from activities such as forestry, ranching or resource extraction to bear the financial burden of shifting their local economy on their own to protect areas for the benefit of all, said Ken Wu, chair of the recently established Nature-Based Solutions Foundation (NBSF).
Case in point is the current old-growth deferral process underway in B.C., where the provincial government has asked First Nations to consider putting logging on hold in at-risk old-growth forests but hasn't offered any compensation to do so, said Wu, also executive director of the Endangered Ecosystems Alliance.
“It's both unrealistic and unreasonable to expect First Nations to just walk away from their main revenue sources in order to save old-growth,” Wu said.
“For there to be environmental, economic and social justice, there needs to be a sustainable economic alternative with key financing.”
Conservation financing allows communities to protect or conserve valuable ecosystems and is ideally paired with the development of economic alternatives in areas such as tourism, recreation, clean energy, sustainable fisheries and agriculture, or the setting up Indigenous Guardian programs, where people who live on the land become the stewards of conservation areas in their territories, Wu said.
Conservation foundations like the NBSF and private funding sources can help plug some gaps in conservation financing, but provincial and federal governments need to step up and provide the lion's share, he added.
The Great Bear Rainforest - a conservation area the size of Ireland on the central coast of B.C. - is a good case study in conservation financing that resulted in Indigenous-led environmental stewardship and sustainable development and forest protections, Wu said.
A total of $60 million from conservation groups was matched with $30 million each from the provincial and federal governments resulting in a landmark agreement in 2016, which has created more than 1,000 jobs, 100 businesses, and numerous Guardian Watchmen programs by the First Nations involved.
“Any time First Nations have had equivalent economic alternatives to keep old-growth forest standing and build an alternative economy, they've chosen the protection path,” Wu said.
The federal government put $50 million on the table to protect old-growth forests in B.C. and allocated a landmark $340 million to support Indigenous leadership in nature conservation and stewardship last year, Wu noted.
But B.C., which has jurisdiction over forestry in the province, appears to have done little to take advantage of that funding or co-operate with Ottawa to compensate First Nations considering logging deferrals, Wu said.
And the province certainly hasn't offered any funding to offset any anticipated loss of forestry revenue, he added.
“Those potential deferrals form the core of future protected areas,” Wu said.
“If you lose those deferral areas, you lose the heart of the old-growth in conserved areas.”
Despite being a relatively new foundation, NBSF has raised a little more than $1 million of the $50 million it hopes to reach in the next six months to help some First Nations interested in protecting old-growth logging offset revenue losses from deferrals, he said.
The foundation is involved in preliminary conversations with a handful of First Nations leaders, Wu said, adding he expects more interest in nature-based solutions to address climate change, the biodiversity crisis and to spur sustainable development.
“For now, we're just moving ahead quietly and seeing who's interested,” Wu said.
“And we'll keep moving forward.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
'Of course, yes': Poland latest European country with interest in Canadian LNG
The President of Poland says his country would 'of course' be interested in purchasing Canadian liquefied natural gas if it were available, while the Canadian federal government has said it is 'not interested' in subsidizing future projects.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Dozens in Italy give a fascist salute on the anniversary of Mussolini's execution
Dozens of people raised their arms in the fascist salute and shouted a fascist chant during ceremonies Sunday to honor Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on the 79th anniversary of his execution.
Health minister 'deeply appreciative' of doctors but capital gains changes here to stay
Health Minister Mark Holland says while he is 'deeply appreciative' of the work doctors in Canada do, the federal government has no plans to scrap the proposed capital gains tax changes outlined in the latest budget, despite opposition from the Canadian Medical Association.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.