The Truck Loggers' Association meets in Victoria today and tomorrow for their annual convention and trade show. Judging from the conference program, the mountain pine beetle has fallen off the radar. But as CCPA researcher Ben Parfitt explains in today's Times Colonist, there is still much to be done to help BC forests recover from the pine beetle disaster.
The study we released yesterday, Managing BC's Forests for a Cooler Planet, has gotten some great media coverage. Author Ben Parfitt discussed the study's recommendations at length on the Bill Good Show, along with John Allan of the Council of Forest Industries (COFI). You can listen to the show on CKNW's audiovault.
There were also articles in papers across the province today, including the Vancouver Sun and the Prince George Citizen. Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail previewed some of our findings in a feature article on the mountain pine beetle in their Saturday edition.
We're pleased about the response to the study, not only from the media but also from COFI, and hopeful that our vision for forest management will be taken up by the provincial government.
Vancouver — Forest industry unions and leading environmental groups have united behind a plan that calls on the BC government to conserve more forest, halt rampant wood waste and promote wise use of forest products — all as part of a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Vancouver — Forest industry unions and leading environmental groups have united behind a plan that calls on the BC government to conserve more forest, halt rampant wood waste and promote wise use of forest products — all as part of a concerted effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
“We have joined forces, post Copenhagen, to say that BC must lead by example with innovations that fully promote carbon storage in our forests and forest products,” says Ben Parfitt, the plan’s author and resource policy analyst with the BC Office of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “Today’s report represents an entirely new approach to managing BC’s forests, rethinking what we do through the lens of maximizing carbon capture.”
“Woodworkers and environmentalists alike understand that we have a golden opportunity to move in a new direction that makes our forests more resilient in the face of climate change and that better positions our forest industry and rural resource towns for the new, green economy,” Parfitt adds.
Managing BC’s Forests for a Cooler Planet: Carbon Storage, Sustainable Jobs and Conservation, was released jointly today by the CCPA; BC Government and Service Employees’ Union; Communications, Energy and Paperworkers of Canada; David Suzuki Foundation; Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada; Sierra Club BC; United Steelworkers District 3 – Western Canada; and Western Canada Wilderness Committee.
The report calls for:
In the absence of such efforts, the report warns of more devastation ahead as forest insect attacks increase in severity and more forest fires burn.
“This plan would truly set BC on an exciting new course. More trees would be planted; better use made of solid wood products that store carbon; and rampant wood waste at logging operations brought to an end: waste that costs us 2,400 forest industry jobs each year and that increases BC’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by 5 per cent,” says Scott Lunny of the United Steelworkers District 3.
"We are happy to support this action plan that recognizes the invaluable role of forest conservation in addressing the climate crisis," says Ben West, Healthy Communities campaigner with the Wilderness Committee. "Environmentalists are now on the same side as forestry workers because we all want sustainable jobs and real world solutions that respect the realities of the challenges we face. This innovative plan is a real opportunity for BC to play a leadership role in finding the equitable and sustainable solutions that we needed at the failed Copenhagen climate negotiations."
Managing BC’s Forests for a Cooler Planet: Carbon Storage, Sustainable Jobs and Conservation is available at www.policyalternatives.ca/coolforests. For more information or interviews with Ben Parfitt, Scott Lunny, Ben West or George Heyman of Sierra Club BC, contact Sarah Leavitt at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives: 604-801-5121 ext 233 or sarah [at] policyalternatives [dot] ca.
This study is part of the Climate Justice Project, a partnership between the CCPA-BC and UBC, funded by Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Mountain pine beetle attacks have decimated BC’s pine forests, seriously damaging their ability to store carbon and protect against global warming. An effective response to the beetle attacks will involve much more than just clearcutting dead trees.
In an article on the Tyee, William Rees calls the Canadian government "criminally negligent" for its (lack of) policy on climate change. Meanwhile, in the Guardian, George Monbiot says that Canada is now to climate what Japan is to whaling. Should we lie down and cry, or just reassure ourselves that we picked a great time to launch our Climate Justice Project?
In a recent post on Policy Note, Marc Lee points out that the BC government's recent decision to close down one big GHG producer — Burrard Thermal plant in Vancouver — won't reduce total emissions, since the government is allowing new oil and gas facilities to be built that emit even more GHGs. Marc's bold proposition: an immediate moratorium on all new oil and gas development — unless accompanied by carbon capture and storage.
As the CCPA's Climate Justice Project takes off, we're getting some great inspiration and ideas from these innovative American projects: Green for All argues that the US can solve its environmental and economic crises at the same time, with their mission of "working to build an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty." And one of our community partners, Sightline Institute in Seattle, has created an excellen
CCPA not only does first-rate research; it also connects with the real world by putting powerful information in the hands of advocacy groups and by presenting intelligent, progressive ideas in the media. It is a BC jewel and I urge everyone to support it.
— Kathleen Ruff, founder, RightOn Canada