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Preserving
the Great Bear Rainforest
Protected by their remoteness,
the old-growth timber stands
of the Great Bear Rainforest
have largely escaped the clearcutting
fate of coastal forests to the
south. With pressure mounting
to harvest this last remaining
tract of temperate rainforest,
an historic agreement between
environmental groups, First
Nations, logging companies,
forestry workers, community
representatives, fishers, marine
conservationists, tourism operators
and the provincial government
has acted to permanently prohibit
logging in 20 mid-coast rainforest
valleys, and to defer logging
in a further 68 watersheds,
pending further study and negotiation.
Green
River Fate Uncertain: Areas
protected by the agreement include
much of Princess Royal Island,
Pooley Island and the Khutze
Inlet on the mainland, but the
Green Inlet/Green River area
remains within the sights of
future logging operations. Conservation
groups are continuing to work
toward protection of this Green
watershed's unique lagoon/estuary
ecosystem, calling for the replacement
of clearcutting techniques with
more ecologically sound forestry
practices.
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Coastal Forestry:
An Industry in Transition
On coastal British Columbia, it is now apparent
that the stands of premium old-growth trees
that once seemed inexhaustible are, in fact,
disturbingly finite. Many factors, both
economic and environmental, have adversely
affected the profitability of British Columbia's
coastal forestry industry:
• The
quality and value of old-growth harvestable
timber has declined. Lower-value hemlock
and balsam are now in greater supply than
premium-value Douglas fir and cedar.
• Product
markets have weakened. Exports to Japan
have sharply decreased, particularly in
the formerly lucrative market for green
hemlock, and sales to the United States
have been interrupted by trade disputes.
• Costs
have risen. Easily accessible coastal forests
have been exhausted, requiring logging companies
to shift their operations to more remote
interiors. High-value harvests are no longer
sufficient to compensate for labour costs,
which are higher than those of other areas.
• International
boycotts, confrontations, and consumer pressure
to protect old-growth forests have resulted
in government action to withdraw large areas
of forest land from commercial use and designate
them as wilderness, parks and protected
areas.
Chain Reaction: As
a result, the rate of return for the coastal
British Columbia forestry industry has fallen
below the cost of capital, rendering it
unattractive to investors. Plant equipment,
designed to process old-growth timber only,
is becoming obsolete. Mills are closing
and many coastal communities are losing
their economic base.
New approaches to managing second-growth
coastal forests are being proposed, and
along with changing economic and social
conditions, will determine the future of
the coastal British Columbia forestry industry.
The Coastal British
Columbia Forestry Industry At-a-Glance
• Crown-owned
forest land covers 2/3 of the province (59
million hectares).
• The
coastal (mainland west of the Cascade Mountains
and offshore islands) industry generated
a $3.2 billion value in 2000.
• Total
coastal timber supply in 2000 was 24 million
cubic metres.
• In the
year 2000, the coastal forestry industry
provided almost 12,000 jobs in 14 pulp and
paper mills, 47 large sawmills, 44 shake
and shingle plants and several wood-related
manufacturing operations.
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