SAVE BC'S PUBLIC LANDS
Backgrounder on
Privatisation - Environment Issues
Public lands are the heart and soul of BC. Public lands are the source
of the pride citizen’s feel about being a part of beautiful BC. Public lands are the
wealth the province and if we maintain these lands in public hands they will be the source
of wealth for generations to come. Selling or trading BC's public lands for a few million
dollars is a very short sighted approach.
Historically, logging companies in BC have done a very poor job of
managing forestlands and protecting streams, fish, wildlife and drinking water. Current
proposals to privatise or increase corporate control of these public (Crown) forestlands
will not improve protection, rather it will reduce protection for these and other
important environmental values. If the recent privatisation deal between the province and
MacMillan Bloedel (MB) is completed, MB will be able to operate virtually unregulated on
up to 120,000 hectares of land previously managed in the public interest.
Background
- For many years, there were no laws to protect BC’s forests from the greed of the
timber industry. In 1995, the BC government enacted the much-maligned Forest Practices
Code. While the new rules did not provide strong protections for environmental values,
they did provide rules to regulate company activities around some important environmental
values such as streams and drinking water.
- Now, after delaying five years, the government is just now implementing its long
promised protections for wildlife and biodiversity. Unfortunately, companies are pushing
for privatisation as a means avoiding public oversight and of returning to the good old
days of lawless logging. These very same companies that have logged our public lands
unsustainably for decades -- in the process demolishing salmon streams and pushing species
to the brink of extinction-- now want us to trust their management of our forests, our
water and our most threatened species.
- If privatisation is not stopped, mandatory requirements that allow public access, buffer
fish streams, protect against landslides, mitigate impacts on drinking water, protect
roads from eroding, and limit rates of logging will be replaced by voluntary rules
(written by the companies themselves) that provide much less protection than rules on
public land.
Wildlife
- After five years of delays, the BC government just recently began implementing
protection for wildlife at risk. The long awaited Identified Wildlife Management Strategy
(IWMS) will provide protection for almost 40 species of important wildlife and plants by
creating small habitat areas where logging and roadbuilding will be restricted but not
prohibited. Although the IWMS is capped so it can only impact the timber supply by 1%,
companies have vigorously resisted implementation. If land is removed from public
oversight, or privatised, companies will not have to implement habitat protection.
- British Columbia and Canada, unlike the United States, have no laws that prohibit
destruction of endangered species habitat on private land. Therefore, once areas are
removed from public oversight or privatised, companies will be able to destroy habitat
important to Grizzly Bears, Mountain Caribou, Northern Goshawks, Spotted Owls, Bull Trout,
Vancouver Island Marmot and other threatened species. There will be nothing the government
or the public can do to stop them.
- The up to 120, 000 hectares of land that will now be free from effective environmental
protections contains some of the best remaining wildlife habitat on Vancouver Island.
Important protections for deer winter range do not apply on private land so MB will be
able to log these important areas that would be protected on public land.
Streams and Fish
- Rules on public land require that larger fish streams (>1.5m) are protected by
unlogged buffers of trees 20-50 meters wide. The anticipated new private land regulations
only suggest 20 trees every 200 meters be left standing on either side of fish streams 1.5
to 3.0 metres wide, and 40 trees every 200 metres for fish streams >3.0 m. If a company
violates these weak, voluntary rules there will only be 4 enforcement officers in the
entire province to check on them.
Drinking Water
- While not sufficient to fully protect drinking water, rules on public land ensure that
impacts on community drinking water are considered in forest planning. Laws for public
land provide a modicum of protection from landslides, pesticides, road building and
siltation. There are no equivalent rules for logging on private lands. If public land is
privatised, citizens will have to trust logging companies to protect their water and
health. The only option to stop any harmful logging activities will be unpredictable and
expensive lawsuits.
- If the land requested by MB is privatised, lands that provide the drinking water for
Nanaimo, Duncan, and many smaller communities will be owned and controlled by MB with no
mandatory rules for protection.
Biodiversity
- The logging industry and government have delayed implementation of protection for old
growth and biodiversity for almost five years. Just recently, government announced that
mechanism protecting these values would be implemented over the next three years.
Privatising public land and removing it from public oversight means that thousands of
hectares will be exempt from these new rules.
- The government’s anticipated new private land regulations provide no protection for
biodiversity or old growth. Therefore, if the requested land is privatised and
deregulated, MB will not have to leave any old growth or protect any biodiversity on the
up to 120,000 hectares no longer covered by the Forest Practices Code.
Rate of Logging
- Laws on public land regulate the rate of logging. There are no such rules on private
land meaning vast areas can be progressively clear-cut.
- On public land steep slopes, landslide prone areas, sensitive soils, and wetlands get
modest protection. There are no rules to protect these sensitive areas on private land.
For More Information
The Campaign to Save BC’s Public Lands is a loose
network of social justice, environmental and labour groups that support a set of core
principles about resisting privatisation and promoting community control of forests, in a
manner that is fair to all British Columbians and respects the rights and title of First
Nations.
To find out more about the Campaign or for further information about
the material in this backgrounder, please contact:
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