The campaign goals Greenpeace embarked on were large and
visionary covering 21 million acres, the traditional territory of
17 First Nations, and a region of economic importance to many,
including 5 major multinational logging companies.
To be successful and sustainable in this complicated political,
economic and environmental landscape, conservation in the Great
Bear Rainforest must not only protect the ecosystem, but also
leverage change in multinational economic forces, respect
indigenous cultures, and strengthen local stewardship efforts and
economies.
On February 7, 2006, the Government of British Columbia ratified
agreements based on the outcomes of their negotiations with First
Nations that include:
• A quadrupling of existing protected areas that would
see one-third of the region off limits to logging. This network of
protected areas is the largest coastal temperate rainforest
protection package in Canadian history and represents an area five
times the size of Prince Edward Island.
• The percentage of protection (33 per cent of the Great Bear
Rainforest) being considered is globally significant. The gains
are clear, if we compare this to the existing seven per cent
protected in the Great Bear Rainforest, or in B.C. where only 12.5
per cent is protected, or Canada where only 6.3 per cent is
protected or globally where 10.8 per cent is protected, . For
reference, other regions that are renowned for their protected
areas are Costa Rica at 25 per cent and the Great Barrier Reef at
33 per cent.
• Analysis shows that over 55 per cednt of estuaries and 54 per
cent of wetlands, approximately 30 per cent of all habitat for
northern goshawk, grizzly bear, marbled murrelet, black-tailed deer
and tailed-frog, 34 per cent of all remaining old-growth forest,
and 39 per cent of mature forest are found in the network of
protected areas. Fully 40 per cent of all documented
salmon-bearing stream reaches are entirely included within the
proposed protected area system.
• The proposed network of protected areas under-represents
"rock and ice" and captures much more high value low elevation
forests than are represented currently in B.C.'s park system.
Alpine tundra represented in B.C.'s current park system sits at 29
per cent, while in the Great Bear Rainforest proposed protection
would see only 15 per cent in alpine tundra (note: 20 per cent of
the Great Bear Rainforest overall is classified as alpine
tundra).
• A commitment to take a small step and create a pathway and
structure to see implementation of ecosystem-based management by
2009. If government and industry abide by the adopted
ecosystem-based management handbook, this would result in a full 70
per cent of the GBR's ecosystems and species having some form of
protection at any one time.
• $60 million in private and philanthropic funds matched by $60
million from the province and feds to flow to First Nations based
on the ecological results of their land use plans. Up to an
additional $80 million in socially responsible investments for
native and non-native communities with ties to the current economy
of the Great Bear Rainforest. These funds include a conservation
endowment fund (which generates income in perpetuity) dedicated
solely to scientific and stewardship activities including
restoration projects and conservation management, such as Forest
Watchman jobs and the restoration of streams. An economic
development fund and socially responsible investments will be
dedicated to ecologically sustainable business ventures such as
tourism, alternative energy production, non-timber forest products
and shellfish aquaculture. The goal is to enable communities in
the region to develop a new economy, rather than rely on
multinational corporations that choose to enter the region (such as
aquaculture and logging companies).