Forest Companies, Enviro Groups Deliver Recommendations for Great Bear Rainforest
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Joint recommendations to achieve final implementation of ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the Great Bear Rainforest have been reached among five forest product businesses and three leading environmental groups who together form the Joint Solutions Project (JSP), based in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. The five forest products companies are Catalyst Paper Corp., Howe Sound Pulp & Paper, Interfor, Western Forest Products, and BC Timber Sales. The three environmental groups are ForestEthics Solutions, Greenpeace, and Sierra Club BC.
The recommendations include the scope of future logging along British Columbia’s central and north coasts and conservation measures to support ecological low risk. The recommendations have been provided to the Province and First Nations at their request.
The joint recommendations are the culmination of years of intensive collaborative work and technical analysis. They represent major input for the final step in the landmark Great Bear Rainforest Agreement, which was announced in 2006, and endorsed by the provincial government, First Nations, environmental groups, and forest product companies.
The recommendations have been delivered to the Province and First Nations who are the decision-makers regarding implementation of the Great Bear Rainforest Agreements that will protect the rainforest while at the same time improving social, cultural, and economic well-being. The recommendations will also support the 2014 review of the current legal objectives for the region
JSP was established in 2000 by a group of British Columbia coastal forest product companies and environmental organizations. In the years since, it has participated in land use planning and technical analysis to inform decision-making aimed at reducing conflict over logging and creating a world-class conservation plan for the 64,000 sq. km Great Bear Rainforest.
