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October 26, 2000

Four coastal British Columbia (Canada) forest product companies that agreed this past spring to an 18-month moratorium on timber harvesting in the area in exchange for a similar standstill in marketing campaigns against them by four environmental groups, say they “welcome” British Columbia Premier Ujjal Dosangh’s “call earlier this week for a coordinated strategy to address international concerns regarding BC forest practices and products.”

The four forest product companies involved in the Coast Forest Conservation Initiative (CFCI) are Canadian Forest Products, Fletcher Challenge Canada, Western Forest Products, and Weyerhaeuser. The four environmental groups are the Sierra Club of British Columbia, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN), the Coastal Rainforest Coalition (CRC), and Greenpeace.

However, also earlier this week, the four forest products companies reported that Greenpeace had “reopened” its campaign in violation of the “peace pact,” but that the initiative would be continued regardless of this development (see Forest companies to go forward with BC initiative — with or without Greenpeace). Greenpeace reportedly reopened its campaign via a letter it sent to German papermakers and publishers, as noted in a joint release by the forest products companies,

A July article in Pulp and Paper Online (see Forest product companies, environmental groups to co-sponsor B.C. ecosystem initiative) reported that the four companies and four environmental groups were co-sponsoring work on development of an unprecedented proposal for a conservation-based ecosystem approach to temperate rainforests on the Central and North Coast of British Columbia.

Call for coordinated strategy

In a release this week, Premier Dosanjh stated that “the provincial government will work with communities, workers, and the forest industry to protect the interests of BC families through a coordinated strategy that markets BC's forest products and BC's advances in forest management. British Columbia has one of the best-managed forest systems in the world, but like all commercial enterprises, we must continue to adapt to changing market forces."

Premier Dosanjh noted that “market challenges for BC forest products require an integrated, collaborative response. We must work together to define each of our roles and decide how we can co-ordinate our efforts to make sure we continue to supply the world with the highest quality wood products available anywhere.” Dosanjh also said in the release that has asked Forests Minister Jim Doyle to meet with workers, municipal leaders, industry, and forest certification experts to develop a coordinated strategy for international markets.

In response to Premier Dosanjh’s comments, Merran Smith, senior forests campaigner, Sierra Club of BC, noted that “we have been urging government to take a more collaborative approach to these issues and are encouraged to see them take action.”

Linda Coady, VP, Weyerhaeuser, added that “the initiative we are working on represents the first attempt in British Columbia by forest companies and environmental groups to develop a model for forest conservation and management that fully integrates social, economic, and ecological needs. We believe it is therefore critical that this initiative be an integral part of the marketing strategy now being promoted by the Premier.”

According to Tzeporah Berman, BC program director, Coastal Rainforest Coalition, “a marketing strategy for BC forest products that does not address the need for change on the ground in controversial areas such as the Central and North Coast will not be seen as credible in the marketplace. British Columbia has a major opportunity to break through the polarization that has come to characterize forest issues in this province by supporting new approaches to conservation that can work both in the forest and in the international marketplace.”

Berman and Coady said the companies and environmental groups participating in the joint solutions process are requesting a meeting with the Premier and other interested parties to discuss how their joint project can benefit the government's plan to address challenges posed by international buyers of BC forest products.Joint solutions project

As explained by the forest companies and environmental groups, the purpose of the peace accord “was to create a conflict-free period in which both sides could work towards new solutions to the controversy over harvesting on the Central and North Coast of BC, an area that has been called the Great Bear Rainforest by environmentalists. Unconstrained by existing government policies, participating companies and environmental groups are now working to develop information, analysis, options, and ideas that can be tabled with formal land use decision making processes, such as the Central Coast LRMP, and with other interested parties.”

The groups said that an estimated $4 million in funding will be required to conduct the solutions project—for analysis of the ecosystem and social and economic issues that both the forest companies and environmental groups agree are key to the future of the region's old growth forests. Environmental groups have raised an initial $1 million for the project and the companies have reportedly agreed to match it. Error: Unable to read footer file.