Chiefs, Enviros Explore Alternatives to Logging Clayoquot Sound

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Canada, August 9, 2006 (ENS) - Plans to log the last pristine old growth forests of Vancouver Island's Clayoquot Sound have been shelved for the time being while First Nations and environmental groups consult on alternative economic opportunities. The forests at issue are designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Representatives from five environmental organizations and five Central Region First Nations met Tuesday in Clayoquot Sound to discuss the controversy that arose when the British Columbia government and Clayoquot Sound First Nations announced July 27 that they planned to allow logging in watersheds that environmental groups fought for more than 15 years to protect.

At the meeting Tuesday, the parties agreed to pursue the full consultation and accommodation of aboriginal title and rights of the Central Region First Nations and at the same time ensure the ecological and cultural integrity of Clayoquot Sound.

Present at the meeting were representatives of five environmental groups - ForestEthics, Friends of Clayoquot Sound, Greenpeace, the Sierra Club of Canada, BC Chapter, and the Western Canada Wilderness Committee.

Representatives of five First Nations were at the table from the Hesquiaht, Ahousaht, Tla-o-qui-aht, Ucluelet, and Toquaht.

The Central Region Chiefs and the environmental groups are calling upon the provincial and federal governments to identify resources and infrastructure to create economic alternatives for Clayoquot Sound and enable legal mechanisms to ensure a lasting solution.

The Ursus River Valley in Clayoquot Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island is one of the valleys where logging is being considered. (Photo by Adrian Dorst courtesy Friends of Clayoquot Sound)

“We are relieved that there is no logging planned in the pristine valleys at this time and that the Central Region Chiefs are committed to working with us to explore common ground and identify economic alternatives,” said ForestEthics Program Director Tzeporah Berman.

The parties agreed to re-establish and re-invigorate a working group that will strengthen and renew the existing agreement between the environmental groups, the Central Region Chiefs and Iisaak Forest Resources to advance economic and ecological prosperity.

Iisaak is a First Nations led forest services company operating exclusively within Clayoquot Sound that says it "prides itself on using traditional values and showing respect for the environment."

At Tuesday's meeting, the parties pledged to review the science in a local, regional and international context, and work together to increase the influence of the Central Region Chiefs over their entire territory and their capacity to address land use and forestry throughout Clayoquot Sound.

The working group will release a status report by early fall.

In May, the B.C. government provided C$600,000 for the Central Region Chiefs’ Administration and the Central Region Board, a joint British Columbia - First Nations body, to manage the lands and resources of Clayoquot Sound. The agreement is part of the new relationship the provincial government is implementing to address the long-standing grievances of First Nations.

The Central Region Board reviews resource development plans, applications, permits, decisions, reports or recommendations made by ministries, agencies or panels.

The announcement shocked and galvanized environmental groups to once again protect these old growth forests.

"For many of us who fought long and hard to ensure the protection of these forests, this is our worst nightmare," said Berman, who was a coordinator of the Clayoquot protests of the early 1990s.

Clearcutting ancient temperate rainforest in Clayoquot Sound, British Columbia, Canada. September 1993. (Photo by Chip Vinai courtesy Greenpeace)

More than 10,000 people stood in logging blockades and nearly 900 people were arrested before a 1999 Memorandum of Understanding was signed by environmental groups, First Nations and the logging company McMillan Bloedel.

It is under this Memorandum of Understanding that Tuesday's meeting was convened.

In 2000, Clayoquot Sound was designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in recognition of its global, cultural, and ecological importance and uniqueness. But only a portion of Clayoquot Sound is protected from industrial activities.

Friends of Clayoquot Sound says, "The designation, or the word 'reserve' specifically, seems to imply that all of Clayoquot Sound's ecosystems have been protected, which has lead to widespread belief that logging and fish farming no longer occur in Clayoquot Sound. In reality this is far from being true."

The Biosphere designation is symbolic and did not bring any new protected areas or environmental regulations, says the environmental group, which is based near Clayoqout Sound in Tofino on Vancouver Island's west coast.

In fact, three-quarters of the productive old growth forest in Clayoquot Sound is open to logging. Only one-quarter of productive forest has been set aside in parks, which the Friends of Clayoquot Sound says are "too small to offer meaningful protection."

Iisaak Forest Resources has said it plans to log between 110,000 and 120,000 cubic meters annually from the Clayoquot Sound Biosphere Reserve.

View an interactive map of logging in the area at: http://www.focs.ca/logging/logging_updates.htm