Great Bear Rainforest carbon credits offer economic lifeline to First Nations

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      First Nations along the north and central coast could reap a financial windfall if they and the government agree on recommendations from industry and environmental groups to protect an additional 500,000 hectares of the Great Bear Rainforest.

      It's in a region covering about 6.4 million hectares along B.C.’s central and north coast—an area larger than Switzerland.

      It's the world’s largest intact coastal temperate rainforest.

      According to UBC Sauder School of Business professor James Tansey, protecting 70 percent of the Great Bear Rainforest from logging—which would result from the recommendations—would yield about 1.2 million tonnes of carbon credits per year.

      These credits could be sold for $15 to $25 per tonne, generating $18 million to $30 million annually for First Nations communities in the region.

      “It gets spent on community economic development and job creation,” Tansey, CEO of Offsetters, told the Georgia Straight at a clean-technology conference at the Vancouver Convention Centre. “We’ve been working with them on things like shellfish aquaculture and ecotourism.”

      The Great Bear Rainforest is home to 17 types of marine mammals, as well as grizzly bears, rare white spirit bears, and numerous other species.

      Tansey said that the current level of protected old-growth forests in the Great Bear Rainforest generates about a million tonnes of carbon credits annually.

      First Nations can sell these credits to generate revenue in return for choosing not to harvest forested lands, which would jeopardize biodiversity.

      Recent history of Great Bear Rainforest

      Jens Wieting, forest and climate campaigner with the Sierra Club of B.C., visited the Straight office earlier this week to discuss how the recent recommendations came forward.

      He began by noting that the region is home to more than 20 First Nations groups who’ve been there for thousands of years.

      In the 1990s, tensions rose between environmentalists and forest companies over the extent of logging in the area.

      He mentioned that at times, discussions would break down because the two sides would end up yelling at each other.

      Wieting said that around the same time, the provincial government and First Nations began negotiations on how to improve their relationship and share decision-making in the region.

      “All these different conflicts and discussions then morphed into the so-called Great Bear Rainforest agreements announced in 2006 by the provincial government, First Nations, a group of logging companies, and three environmental organizations [Sierra Club of B.C., ForestEthics, and Greenpeace],” he said. “These agreements were about increasing conservation [of land] based on ecosystem-based management. Secondly, there was an agreement around a big funding package to support economic alternatives—conservation financing, primarily in First Nations communities.”

      He added that another “very important component” concerned a new decision-making model: the province and First Nations would jointly agree on land use and other important issues in the area.

      The 2009 milestones

      Wieting said that in 2009, about one-third of the Great Bear Rainforest—2.1 million hectares—was protected from logging.

      In addition, a $120-million fund was established to support economic alternatives in First Nations communities. And a land-use forum was created to facilitate further discussions, which Wieting described as a “big, outstanding step”.

      “All parties agreed that the so-called land-use objectives implemented at the time would be reviewed within five years,” he stated.

      The 2009 agreement called for “transitional logging regulations” protecting half of the region’s old-growth timber, but that wasn’t enough to satisfy environmental groups.

      “We wanted to make sure that we would meet the scientists’ recommendations for conservation of the rainforest, which was to set aside 70 percent of the natural level of old-growth forests,” he said.

      Wieting explained that by reaching the 70 percent figure in a coastal temperate rainforest, there’s a high likelihood that wildlife won’t be seriously affected.

      “You don’t have to worry about the bears, wolves, and salmon, and these remarkable ecosystems will remain stable and intact,” he said.

      He pointed out that the 2009 agreement set aside similar amounts of different types of ecosystems, such as cedar-leading, western hemlock-leading, alpine meadows, and wetlands.

      The environmental groups zeroed in on five “focal species”: grizzlies, marbled murrelets, mountain goats, northern goshawks, and coastal tailed frogs.

      That’s because if there’s enough habitat for them, it will also preserve sufficient land for other species with similar needs.

      "Most importantly, we didn’t favour ice and rock like on Vancouver Island," he said. "On Vancouver Island, the biggest protected area is Strathcona Park. There are very few productive forest areas in there. There’s a huge lack of productive big-tree ecosystems off-limits to logging. The Great Bear Rainforest has a completely different approach."

      The terrestrial and marine ecosystems intersect to promote biodiversity.
      Jens Wieting / Sierra Club of B.C.

      Wieting emphasized that while the environmental organizations and forest companies have been at the table reaching a consensus on recommendations, final decision-making rests with the First Nations and the B.C. government. 

      There are two aboriginal organizations that represent indigenous groups in the decision-making process.

      Coastal First Nations includes the Wuikinuxv Nation, Heiltsuk, Kitasoo/Xaisais, Nuxalk Nation, Gitga’at, Metlakatia, Old Masset, Skidegate, and Council of the Haida Nation. Its key spokesperson is Art Sterritt.

      The Nawakolas Council, headed by Dallas Smith, represents the Mamalilikulla Qew’Qwa’Sot’Em, Tlowitsis, Da’naxda’xw Awaetlatla, Gwa’sala-‘Nakwaxda’xw, We Wai Kum, Kwiakah, and K’omoks First Nations.

      Newest recommendations

      Wieting said that after some tough negotiations, the three environmental groups, B.C. Timber Sales, and four forest companies—Interfor, Western Forest Products, Catalyst, and Howe Sound Pulp and Paper—have proposed to set aside an additional 500,000 hectares of forest area in the Great Bear Rainforest.

      Ministry of Forest, Lands and Natural Resource Operations staff and First Nations will review them. Under the Land Act, the government must subject any proposed changes to a public-review process lasting 60 days.

      According to Wieting, these latest recommendations would set aside “pretty close” to 70 percent of the old-growth forests.

      “If you protect old-growth forests from being chopped down today, that has the immediate benefit of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions today, not tomorrow,” he said.

      That’s because old-growth forests act as a sink, sucking up carbon dioxide that would otherwise contribute to climate change.

      He also noted that the terrestrial and marine ecosystems work hand-in-hand. Grizzly bears, for example, take salmon carcasses into the forest. Marble murrelets nest in old-growth forests, but travel to the ocean to find fish to eat.

      Wieting said that because final decisions about protected areas will be made by First Nations and the B.C. government, he didn’t want to reveal too many details about the latest recommendations from the industrial and environmental groups.

      “We want to respect the First Nations in particular,” he said, “and not describe it in a way that could be misinterpreted.”

      B.C. is losing carbon sinks

      Earlier this month, the Sierra Club of B.C. revealed that the province's forests have been releasing massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in recent years.

      In 2011 alone, new data suggests emissions of 35 million tonnes.

      That was more than half the official total of 62 million tonnes released that year—and the 35 million tonnes weren't counted in the province's official tally.

      Since 2003, according to the Sierra Club of B.C., 270 million tonnes have been released—six times B.C.'s official total.

      That's as a result of logging, forest fires, cutting down trees as a result of the mountain pine beetle outbreak, and poor forest-management practices.

      UBC's Tansey said that the province has bought carbon credits already from the Great Bear Rainforest to meet its goal of creating a carbon-neutral government.

      He added that First Nations in other areas may be in a position to sell up to another million tonnes of carbon credits annually.

      “As the province’s emissions grow and LNG ramps [up], we need to see, now, more funding from offsets flowing into the First Nations communities to compensate for the loss of forestry revenue," Tansey said. "So that’s probably the next stage in the process. The government hasn’t made a final decision on whether the LNG facilities will be regulated yet—and needs to do that.”

      The Northern Gateway threat

      Meanwhile, Enbridge's proposed Northern Gateway pipeline poses a threat to the economic interests of Coastal First Nations, according to Wieting.

      That's because many of the economic initiatives being undertaken in lieu of forestry rely on healthy ecosystems and a pristine coast.

      "If there would be a tanker accident, that would have a catastrophic impact on everything—on communities, on jobs, on the environment," Wieting said. 

      Comments

      6 Comments

      bobo

      Jan 31, 2014 at 2:28pm

      God, would someone please explain to me how the carbon credit scam works. From what I can figure out, if you pollute a lot, you can give some money to someone else who doesn't pollute, then your conscience is clean????? Of course, what is left unsaid is that the pollution just keeps on polluting. Wow!

      Paul Morgan

      Feb 1, 2014 at 9:14am

      “If you protect old-growth forests from being chopped down today, that has the immediate benefit of reducing greenhouse-gas emissions today, not tomorrow,” I agree .Right now the Chief Forester for BC is deciding in the Robson Valley in the Worlds Only Inland Rainforest how much to log submissions have to be in by Feb 3rd they give 6 options and most of those allow for an increase in Ancient Cedar of 140 years or greater. This must not happen the Allowable cut must go down by 50% and the cedar forest 140 years or older must be protected forever. Please write and tell him to save these forest and lower the cut. Thanks send to:Norma Stromberg-Jones, R.P.F.

      Stewardship Forester

      Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations

      Prince George Natural Resource District - McBride Field Office

      300 Robson Centre, Box 40, McBride, B.C. V0J 2E0

      Tel: 250- 569-3788 Fax: 250-569-3755

      Email: Norma.StrombergJones@gov.bc.ca

      EG

      Feb 1, 2014 at 9:57am

      It's based on the ancient religious scam of buying indulgences. You could keep doing bad stuff as long as you paid the church. Then, as now, the only party that benefits is the one collecting the money.

      Ron

      Feb 2, 2014 at 12:14pm

      Its great news for Canadians as well as British Colombians...I think all of the last intact Rainforest should be preserved we have destroyed enough in this province and world the future generations deserve and should have the right to experience the true beauty of a untouched coastal rainforest.

      leonard McCarty

      Feb 4, 2014 at 10:38pm

      This is Park creation, plain and simple. We went through the same thing with the protected area strategy in the '80s. Say it, "we want to create a big park". And then we sell it to the big polluters of the world, or in this case the implication is that BC would pay First Nations for something the province all ready owns. Could we balance the provincial budget by selling carbon credits on all our parks?

      Barry Price

      Aug 8, 2014 at 3:42pm

      Ok Since January How much has been raised by selling carbon credits, who has bought them and where has the money gone?