Clayoquot Sound, Canada: End to "Conventional" Clearcutting

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WORLDWIDE FOREST/BIODIVERSITY CAMPAIGN NEWS

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Forest Networking a Project of Ecological Enterprises

July 19, 1995

OVERVIEW & SOURCE

Following is Rainforest Action Network's reporting of partial

victory, and concerns over remaining logging, in Clayoquot Sound

located in British Columbia, Canada. This item was posted in

econet's rainfor.general conference.

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/* ---------- "Science Panel:'End Clayoquot Clearc" ---------- */

B.C. Government Announcement Vindicates Environmentalists'

Campaign for Clayoquot Sound

Rainforest Action Network Says: "More Than Words, We Need Action"

San Francisco, CA, Tuesday, July 11, 1995 -- Rainforest Action

Network (RAN) congratulated the Harcourt Government for taking an

important first step toward ending "conventional clearcutting" in

Clayoquot Sound and deferring logging in pristine watersheds.

However, RAN warned that unless real change happens in forestry

practices in Clayoquot, it will continue to convince U.S.

newsprint and other customers to seek ecological alternatives to

MacMillan Bloedel's (MB) ancient rainforest paper and timber

products.

Clearcutting in Clayoquot Sound's 650,000 acres of ancient

rainforest wilderness has been the focus of a two year

international fight. The Government's July 6 announcement to

adopt all 120 recommendations of the Scientific Panel vindicates

what environmentalists have been saying all along. The decision

shows that the scientists agree and the government admits that

clearcutting must end in Clayoquot Sound. In addition to their

environmental safeguards, the Science Panel recommendations give

the First Nations peoples, the Nuu-chah-nulth, decision making

power over their traditional lands.

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Science Panel: 'End Clayoquot Clearcutting'

A scientific panel convened by the British Columbia government has

recommended an end to large-scale clearcutting in Clayoquot

Sound's ancient temperate rainforest. The blue-ribbon board

released its report in late May.

"The timing couldn't be better," said RAN wood campaigner Atossa

Soltani, "because it confirms what we've been telling the CEOs of

Pacific Bell, GTE, and The New York Times: 'Stop buying clearcut

pulp from MacMillan Bloedel, and switch to alternatives.'"

Soltani was on site in Clayoquot Sound, meeting with local

activists and a delegation of Pacific Bell executives. This

spring's events are the latest developments in a coordinated

Canadian-U.S. campaign that is putting intense heat on Canadian

clearcutters, their govern-ment allies, and their U.S. customers.

"The fact that big corporate buyers like Pacific Bell are

listening--and checking out what's really happening in Clayoquot

- illustrates the power of this campaign," said RAN executive

director Randy Hayes.

The scientific report and the delegation trip dramatically

increase the potential of this campaign to end ancient-forest

destruction in B.C. The campaign is pioneering an approach that

combines international grassroots organizing, coalition building,

market pressure, wood-demand reduction, and media exposure.

Clayoquot Sound is on the verge of becoming the first major

victory of this new generation of strategies, which address

demand as well as supply.

The scientific panel's report indicates why Canada is

particularly vulnerable to this type of pressure:

Because Canada relies heavily on exporting its wood products,

other countries have powerful means to encourage good

stewardship. Canada is extremely sensitive to international

actions such as consumer boycotts, "green consumerism" or

"eco-labeling" of wood products. Forces from within and outside

the country are working to ensure that Canadian forests - and

their many values - are sustained.

Perhaps the most powerful "outside" force working to preserve

Canadian forests is the U.S. Coalition for British Columbia's

Ancient Forests. The Coalition steering committee comprises RAN,

Natural Resources Defense Council, Greenpeace, and Pacific

Environment and Resources Center. In concert with Canadian

advisors, Rainforest Action Group partners, and dozens of allied

organizations, the Coalition has been campaigning since last year

to shift the U.S. market for unsustainable B.C. forest products

to ecologically sound alternatives. (See "Campaign Highlights")

The campaign's market-based strategy has succeeded spectacularly

in grabbing the attention of the forest industry, B.C. media, and

the B.C. government. All acknowledge, explicitly or implicitly,

that the campaign poses a serious threat to business as usual.

"Sure, I'm worried," B.C. Forests Minister Andrew Petter told The

Toronto Star. "I'm concerned that this boycott pressure could be

adopted against any particular corporation, not just MacMillan

Bloedel."

Because the B.C. government must now decide whether to implement

the changes recommended by the scientific panel, Cana-dian

activists anticipate that building the momentum of the U.S.

campaign is more crucial than ever. "The Canadians are urging us

to keep the pressure on," said Soltani. "Between the domestic and

the international support for Clayoquot Sound, we can put this

one over the top, and - if we do - we'll significantly boost

forest-protection efforts throughout Canada."

- Heather Rosemarin

Campaign Highlights

10/94 - RAN and Greenpeace blockade GTE headquarters in Los

Angeles to protest use of ancient forests in phone books.

11/94 - "Stumpy," a five ton cedar stump from Clayoquot Sound,

tours the eastern U.S. and California, accompanied by protests

against clearcutting.

12/94 - Multi-state campaign, "The Twelve Days of Clearcut,"

raises public awareness about Clayoquot Sound.

1/95 - Coalition identifies three priority corporate customers of

MacMillan Bloedel: Pacific Bell, GTE, and The New York Times.

2/95 - Coalition publishes MacMillan Bloedel corporate profile

with record of MacBlo criminal convictions.

3/95 - Full-page newspaper ads urge Hollywood to help save

Clayoquot Sound by not filming in B.C.

Filmmaker Oliver Stone declares support for Coalition.

B.C. forest-industry front group responds with counter-ads, sends

delega-tion to Hollywood to no avail.

Hollywood's Environmental Media Association declares support for

Coalition.

4/95 - Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Group campaigners attend

GTE shareholders' meeting in Connecticut.

N.Y. RAGs attend New York Times shareholders' meeting and mount

protests.

Full-page newspaper and magazine ads urge tourists to help save

Clayoquot Sound by pressuring for end to clearcutting.

RAN leads protests throughout Southern California against Pacific

Bell and GTE.

5/95 - RAN organizes protest at Pacific Bell shareholders'

meeting.

San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passes resolution

urging Pacific Bell to cancel clearcut contracts and switch to

alternatives.

After meeting with N.Y. RAGs and the Coalition, New York Times

publisher reconsiders MacMillan Bloedel contract.

B.C. scientific panel recommends end to current clearcutting

practices in Clayoquot Sound.

6/95 - Pacific Bell delegation travels to Clayoquot Sound to see

clearcut-logging destruction first-hand.

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From World Rainforest Report, July - September 1995

prohibited. Students, teachers, and activists may copy articles

for limited distribution.

Rainforest Action Network works to protect the Earth's

rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through

education, grassroots organizing, and non-violent direct action.

__________________________________________________________________

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Rainforest Action Network WWW site: http://www.ran.org/ran/

450 Sansome, Suite 700 General email: rainforest@ran.org

San Francisco, CA 94111 IGC news: rainfor.general, ran.news

Phone: (415) 398-4404 Gopher: gopher.ran.org:70/11/orgs/ran

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