Ancient rainforest becoming rare as white rhinos

For millennia, Vancouver Island was mostly covered by spectacular, globally rare ancient rainforest. Many trees were 1,000 years old or older. Indigenous peoples coexisted with the rainforest using many of its plants and animals without destroying it. Shortly after the arrival of Europeans, logging began in earnest. In less than 100 years, the majority of the ancient trees have been logged.

Today, trees are cut without growing old. This results in dramatically impoverished biodiversity and biomass. There is little resemblance to the original forest and its outstanding environmental services of clean water, clean air and a stable climate. Instead of safeguarding what little remains, the rate of old-growth logging on Vancouver Island is speeding up: more than 10,000 hectares are being clearcut each year.

A new Sierra Club B.C. map entitled State of Vancouver Island’s Coastal Temperate Rainforest shows with in-depth detail the scarce remaining endangered old-growth ecosystems and recent destruction. Taking a closer look at our map and the ecological hit this island has taken, you would be forgiven for thinking this is Madagascar or Sumatra or another part of the world known for rapid destruction of biological richness. The original rainforest is becoming as rare as white rhinos.

Our map shows that the remaining lower elevation old-growth with the biggest trees and highest carbon storage (good and medium productivity forest) now covers less than seven per cent of the island (23 per cent when including poorer productivity old-growth ecosystems with smaller trees). The map also shows that where old-growth rainforest got logged over the last 10 years, 2.6 per cent of the island, an area larger than Greater Victoria.

The mandate letter to Forests Minister Doug Donaldson calls for modernized land-use plans and sustainable management of B.C.’s oldgrowth forests. But it remains unclear what steps the provincial government will take to protect endangered old growth such as the last ancient giants of Vancouver Island.

Sierra Club B.C. has shared maps, data and recommendations with the new provincial government but has not yet seen meaningful funding in the 2018 budget. In the absence of leadership by the provincial government, it is up to local and Indigenous governments, businesses and concerned citizens to step up and insist that the most endangered oldgrowth rainforest stands are spared from the chainsaws.

That’s why we are sharing our map online and will mail hard copies on request to support communities in protecting what little old-growth is left on the island.

Our mapping shows that immediate steps are needed to protect the most endangered old-growth forest, combined with support for Indigenous-led land-use planning and long-term forestry jobs in second-growth. After decades of denial about the inevitable transition from clearcutting old-growth to improved management of second-growth, this will require bold leadership. Thus far, we are not seeing it.

Last month the provincial government announced increased habitat protection for marbled murrelet and northern goshawk, remarkable species threatened by the loss of oldgrowth rainforest. This proposal is a step in the right direction, but implementation of the plan will take too long unless interim measures are put in place. And it will not be sufficient to halt the ecological degradation of coastal old-growth on Vancouver Island and the south coast.

Sierra Club B.C. is calling for immediate action by the provincial government to protect endangered old-growth rainforest using science-based conservation solutions such as the Great Bear Rainforest model, before intensifying climate impacts like drought, wildfires and storms coupled with destructive logging practices further exacerbate pressure on ecosystems.

The federal government’s 2018 budget included $1.3 billion for increased protection of terrestrial and marine ecosystem for the next three years. This represents a generational opportunity to seek partnerships between provincial, federal and Indigenous governments to increase rainforest protection, strengthen Indigenous governance, and support local communities. An example is Clayoquot Sound, where the Ahousaht First Nation recently shared their land use vision which includes a proposal to set aside large tracts of their territory as Ahousaht protected areas.

It’s not too late to move beyond the mindset of short-term profit and help Vancouver Island continue to exist as a rainforest island.

Jens Wieting is a forest and climate campaigner with Sierra Club B.C.