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forests & land use

The environment needs your voice for 2 important public consultations

27 January, 2012

The record level of public engagement shown in the recent BC government consultations on cosmetic pesticides (8,700 people) shows that democracy is alive and well in BC. Whether you were one of the thousands of people who made their views known in that consultation or not, why not raise your voice for the environment in one of the other public consultations that the government is carrying out?  Right now you can make your views known on the government's proposed, sweeping "Environmental Mitigation Policy" and/or on a program to fund energy efficiency retro-fits through the energy savings that they generate. 

Public participation in the BC government’s recent public consultations on cosmetic pesticides exceeded all expectations, with an all-time record 8,700 people telling the Legislative Committee what they thought (not counting specific organizations, such as West Coast Environmental Law, who were formally invited to testify)

Regulating the road less travelled

22 December, 2011

BC has laws governing mining roads, other laws governing forestry roads and still other laws governing oil and gas roads.  And historically there’s been no real coordination between the companies building these different roads.  As a result, BC has an estimated 400,000 to 550,000 kilometres of unpaved resource roads (the government itself doesn’t know how many, and where they’re all located).  Last week West Coast Environmental Law submitted our comments on BC’s proposed Natural Resource Roads Act – a piece of legislation intended to better coordinate, and standardize the rules for, the building and maintenance of resource roads. 

BC has laws governing mining roads, other laws governing forestry roads and still other laws governing oil and gas roads.  And historically there’s been no real coordination between the companies building these different roads.  As a result, BC has an estimated 400,000 to 550,000 kilometres of unpaved resource roads (the government itself doesn’t know how many, and where they’re all located).  Last week

Environmental law appeal to be argued over Twitter – for the First time ever

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

VANCOUVER. On Tuesday, February 21st, 2012 at 10am PST (1pm EST), West Coast Environmental Law will be hosting the world's first ever Twitter Moot.  Moot Courts – a simulated court hearing – are a common activity in law schools, but are new to most of Twitter's more than 300 million users.  Law students from 5 prominent Canadian law schools are scheduled to compete in this first moot. 

Viewing mining’s effects on First Nations through the lens of Aboriginal Rights

31 October, 2011

A Guest Post by Bonnie Docherty, Lecturer on Law and Senior Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic - The ongoing tension in British Columbia between mining interests and First Nations concerns has resurfaced yet again this fall. In September, Premier Christy Clark announced her B.C. jobs plan, in which she promised eight new mines and the expansion of nine existing mines by 2015. Although the plan pledges in general to “work more closely” with First Nations, it does not mention consulting with First Nations about those mines and in fact calls for expediting the granting of exploration permits, which many First Nations believe are currently issued too quickly.  In the midst of these developments, the coalition First Nations Women Advocating Responsible Mining (FNWARM) brought stakeholders together in a panel entitled “The Future of Mining in British Columbia: Cooperation, Not Conflict.”  I joined the panel as co-author of the 165-page report Bearing the Burden: The Effects of Mining on First Nations in British Columbia, published by the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic in 2010. My remarks, which I elaborate on below, analyzed the aboriginal rights to which First Nations are entitled, illustrated the undue burden of mining First Nations bear despite those rights, and offered recommendations for how stakeholders could better share the burdens and benefits of this industry.

A Guest Post by Bonnie Docherty, Lecturer on Law and Senior Clinical Instructor, Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic

Local governments take a stand on nature and climate strategy

12 October, 2011

Several days spent at the end of September at UBCM, the annual gathering of local government officials from around the province was a perfect opportunity for West Coast Environmental Law to connect directly with some of the individuals working on the frontlines to make their communities great places to work and live. West Coast was very happy to see UBCM voting delegates endorse Resolution B91, which recommends that the Province of BC develop a science-based nature and climate conservation strategy.  Kudos to the District of Tofino and the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities for bringing Resolution B91 forward.

Photo by Everyspoon on FlickrSeveral days spent at the end of September at UBCM, the annual gathering of local government officials from around the province was a perfect opportunity for West Coast Environmental Law to connect directly with some of the individuals working on the frontlines to make their communities great pl

Halalt Nation’s win protects Chemainus River

19 July, 2011

Last week (on July 13th), Madame Justice Wedge of the BC Supreme Court sided with the Halalt First Nation and suspended plans to pump water from the Chemainus aquifer to be used in the District of North Cowichan.  The decision raises fundamental questions about how we manage water, and our assumption that there will always be clean water available for development.  West Coast Environmental Law is proud to have supported the Halalt First Nation in their legal challenge through a series of grants from our Environmental Dispute Resolution Fund (EDRF).

Last week (on July 13th), Madame Justice Wedge of the BC Supreme Court sided with the Halalt First Nation and suspended plans to pump water from the Chemainus aquifer to be used in the District of North Cowichan.  West Coast Environmental Law is proud to have supported the Halalt First Nation in their legal challenge through a series of grants from our Environmental Dispute Resolutio

Presentations from Dialogues for Legal Innovation: Law Reform for Nature, Climate, and Communities

Thursday, May 26, 2011

On February 16th, 2011, audience members heard invited participants explore, from a range of key perspectives, how BC's laws and policies about land use should evolve in light of climate change.

The reality we face in BC is that many of our resource and land-use management laws were created decades ago, before the phrase "climate change" had even been coined, and long before climate change was recognized as the greatest ecological challenge of our time.

We’re talking about Nature, Climate and Communities

24 February, 2011

Click to go to Facebook photo album for the DialogueFebruary’s grey weather did not deter the more than 150 people who attended a packed evening session for West Coast Environmental Law’s “Dialogue on Law Reform for Nature, Climate and Communities”, the second in West Coast’s Dialogues for Legal Innovation series, held at the Wosk Centre

West Coast is pleased to host the second in our Dialogues for Legal Innovation series: Law Reform for Nature, Climate and Communities

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

 Many of BC's current resource and land-use management laws were made decades ago, before the phrase “climate change” had even been coined, and before climate change was recognized as the greatest ecological challenge of our time.

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