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An area of the forest almost the size of Belgium is now completely off limits to logging in British Columbia (BC). A huge victory!
This win is a direct result of our decade-long campaign — one of the longest in Greenpeace history. The conservation plan protects the largest intact coastal temperate rainforest on the planet. Around the world, it is being hailed as a model for conservation; a 'greenprint' for other nations to learn from.
Maps of the area
Click on the maps to enlarge
A rainforest protected
In 2006, British Columbia’s Premier Gordon Campbell promised the world he would protect the Great Bear Rainforest for future generations and to improve the wellbeing of local communities living in the rainforest.
Those promises have now been realised.
- 2.1 million hectares are now legally protected from logging;
- New ‘lighter touch’ logging regulations, based on Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM), are now legally required. This system maintains 50 per cent of the natural level of old growth forest of the region or an additional 700,000 hectares of forest set aside from logging.
Since 2006, Greenpeace and its partners, Sierra Club BC and ForestEthics, have worked with logging companies, the British Columbia government and First Nations to make the agreement a reality by March 31, 2009 (the date set by Premier Gordon Campbell).
Thanks to Greenpeace supporters
Greenpeace supporters across Canada and the world were instrumental to this victory. So thank you!
You sent thousands of letters to Premier of Campbell. Over 4000 people are members of the Great Bear Rainforest Facebook page.
Greenpeace published full-page newspaper ads encouraging Premier Campbell to keep his promise. Letters and phone calls from major purchasers of pulp, paper and lumber also ensured logging companies and the BC government kept the promise.
Support for First Nations
First Nation communities now have $120 million CDN ($AU136 million) available to help kickstart a new conservation economy as an alternative to logging. The Great Bear Rainforest is the traditional territory of 25 First Nations who have lived in the region for millennia. This announcement supports the creation of new sustainable economic opportunities for First Nations.
The long journey
The historic announcement is built on a decade-long struggle to secure the future of Canada’s Great Bear Rainforest, the site of global controversy, environmental protest and widespread international media interest since 1995.
Greenpeace and its partners demanded an end to destructive logging in the Great Bear Rainforest. Our efforts culminated in critical pressure on forest product customers. Over 80 companies, including Ikea, Home Depot, Staples and IBM, committed to stop selling wood and paper products made from ancient forests. This marketplace pressure drove logging companies to sit down and negotiate with environmentalists. Meanwhile, key valleys in the rainforest were protected from logging while discussions took place.
The main goals of our campaign were to protect the most important areas of the Great Bear Rainforest, change logging practices and support a sustainable future for local communities.
Sophisticated campaign
To make these goals a reality, Greenpeace, along with ForestEthics and Sierra Club BC, employed a sophisticated campaign that involved protests, market engagement, government lobbying and civic action, participation in government-sponsored land-use forums, and negotiations with the coastal logging industry.
More to do
Everyone involved in achieving this major milestone agrees that there is more work to do before achieving the overall goals of ecosystem integrity and human wellbeing.
Greenpeace, other environmental groups, the BC government, forest industry and First Nations have endorsed a five-year plan that will achieve the long-term goals of low ecological risk and high quality of life in communities by 2014.
Global model
This is arguably one of the most comprehensive and complex land management regimes ever worked on. There has been no existing road map to follow. But through the many twists and turns this process has taken we can now see a destination — one where the Great Bear Rainforest will continue to provide a home and sustenance to all manner of life.
The Great Bear Rainforest agreements are truly unique: they work to ensure the ongoing health of the forest, the climate and the economy. Now more than ever, a global model like this one provides a beacon of hope that meaningful collaboration and resolution can be found through conflict.
