Centennial Square in Victoria is full of people. On this February day, thousands followed the call of numerous organizations, drumming, waving banners and animal portraits. It is one of the largest demonstrations for sequoia conservation that the Canadian province of British Columbia has seen. That there were almost 2,000 in the summer Forest fires It is not yet known on this day that the riots will rage and the province will therefore declare a state of emergency.
“Thank you for coming and making a statement,” says Indigenous Chief David Knox of the Kwakiutl First Nation through the microphone. “The preservation of old trees is so important for us humans to be able to live on this earth.”
A quarter of the world’s rare coastal temperate rainforests are found in British Columbia, and the even rarer inland temperate rainforests are found inland. In the last 20 years, however, the area of primary forests there has shrunk by almost half, to 13.2 million hectares. Only one percent of the forest area, 415,000 hectares, is still highly productive old forest, and sequoia trees find good conditions in even less area. Forest areas are often fragmented into small patches, often less than two hectares in size, or are interspersed with industry. Scientists emphasize: British Columbia’s highly productive ecosystems are extremely endangered.
Preserving primary forests is a key to counteracting not only forest fires, but also the climate crisis. They bind 30 to 50 percent more greenhouse gases than forest forests and increase the soil’s water-holding capacity, which protects against fires, landslides and extreme weather events. They offer valuable habitats, for example for forest caribou. But only 15 of the 51 herds have enough habitat to survive long-term.
Today the forest is largely in the hands of a few companies
16 percent of all primary forests on earth are in Canada. “The decisions Canada makes regarding its primary forests in the next few years will have fundamental implications for the global climate and diversity crises,” write 90 international scientists in an open letter to the Canadian government.
But the Douglas firs, Sitka spruces and cedars, some of which are over 800 years old and whose trunks can be several meters in circumference, bring in three times as much money as the wood from younger trees. According to the provincial government, wood from primary forests is firmly planned for the next few decades. Wood generates the equivalent of 900 million euros in tax revenue per year and 50,000 jobs.
Forest loss has been going on for 150 years. In a land that the province of British Columbia appropriated in the 19th century almost entirely without treaties with the First Nations, forestry companies were given licenses to develop it and create jobs. It started on the coast, where it is wetter and the big trees grow. It wasn’t until about 60 years ago that things really took off inland. Deforestation was faster there because of more accessible terrain and modern machinery. Today the forest is largely in the hands of a few companies. And it is in an alarming state almost everywhere because of overlogging, fires and bark beetles.
“We have a forest crisis,” says Ben Parfitt, an author and analyst at the Canadian Center for Policy Alternatives. There is a “cut and run” mentality in the industry: as early as the 1990s, companies like MacMillan Bloedel foresaw that Canada would soon be over and began investing in the southern United States, where plantations grow much faster. Many companies followed. Now entire towns in British Columbia that were created for timber production are dying out. The remaining companies are pushing into the most remote regions for clearing.
But the majestic giant trees in particular have come to the public’s attention – also through protests like in the Fairy Creek Camp 130 kilometers north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. In 2021, activists opposed the Teal-Jones timber company, and the police arrested more than 1,000 people. A deferment of deforestation for Fairy Creek, which was extended this year to 2025, ultimately came at the request of three neighboring First Nations.
There are alternatives to industrial forestry
The increasingly visible extent of the deforestation has led the provincial government to put ancient trees on its agenda. 2020 she gave a study commissioned, which led to a certain rethinking. 1500 particularly large trees were created placed under protection, a moratorium was decided on 196,000 hectares. An action plan will be developed in consultation with First Nations and industry.
The situation is difficult for the more than 200 First Nations in British Columbia: If the government wants to return land, it is exposing itself to demands for compensation from the industry. State authorities have been trying to include indigenous people for three decades. Anyone who doesn’t take part will experience how the forest around the community is exploited without receiving anything. Anyone who takes part is getting involved in the industrialized timber industry – which goes against traditional land management.
The Pacheedaht First Nation is now cooperating with the Teal-Jones company after losing a lot of forest without benefiting themselves. The indigenous people are now using the income from timber sales to buy back their own land. Tree trunks are processed in a small sawmill, and they are also reintroducing salmon in a scientifically supported project. Forestry had destroyed the river banks, and grasses are now being planted there to attract insects and salmon.
The problem with the conventional approach of forestry companies like Teal-Jones is clear-cutting, says forest ecologist Suzanne Simard of the University of British Columbia. An intact forest system can recover surprisingly quickly. But if everything is cut down, then everything in the ground will also be dead.
An alternative is selective forestry. Because the targeted clearing of individual trees is often done by hand, this means more jobs. If these logs are then processed and sold locally, local communities benefit. These forests are often so healthy that at first glance you can’t even tell that trees are being felled in them, reports Parfitt. He complains that these positive examples receive far too little consideration in politics and the public. Even in forests infested with beetles, the question arises as to whether clear-cutting is necessary. In British Columbia, young healthy trees were observed growing in them.
Many experts see the only solution in restructuring the country: with protection zones for primary forests, revitalization zones for cleared areas, selectively used forests that are resilient to forest fires and protect water sources, as well as areas for the forestry industry.
“This verdict is something unprecedented in North America.”
The 160-strong Nuchatlaht First Nation is going their own way. 80 percent of their country’s forest has been cut down, and now the indigenous people are trying to get the land back through the courts. The First Nation has used tree trunks for canoes and bark for clothing, baskets or ceremonial items for thousands of years. In the places where the bark is removed, the trunks heal again. These trees are now evidence in the trial, intended to support the Nuchatlaht’s historical claims.
A six-year-long court case led to a spectacular result this summer: the judge confirmed that the land belonged to the indigenous people. However, sufficient evidence of settlement was not provided for the entire required area. Now the community is faced with the choice of claiming less or appealing. It’s about 200 square kilometers of one of the most breathtaking parts of Vancouver Island.
Jack Woodward represents the community in court: “This judge’s ruling is something unprecedented in North America,” says the lawyer. Woodward sees the process as the start of a decolonization process in Canada. If the entire coast with its forests, watercourses, salmon, bears and whales were back in indigenous hands, there might also be people for whom profit was their top priority. “But they have the connection to the land. And by and large they will manage it better than they currently do.”