Ha-Shilth-Sa: Mowachaht/Muchalaht awarded $15 million to protect old growth and salmon

January 16, 2024 Ken Wu

A project to protect a significant portion of Mowachaht/Muchalaht territory has been pledged $15-million from the federal government, fueling an initiative to save old growth and salmon populations in Nootka Sound over the next generation.

On Oct. 30 Canada’s Ministry of Environment and Climate Change sent a letter to Eric Angel, project manager for the Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation’s Salmon Parks initiative. This confirmed over $15 million in funding for the project, payable up to March 31, 2026.

The Narwhal (Opinion): Is B.C. finally getting real about protecting nature? (The Narwhal)

December 1, 2023 Ken Wu

A historic turning point in how the province prioritizes conservation over industry profits also shows Indigenous Rights and protecting biodiversity go hand-in-hand

A billion dollars for nature in B.C. as long-awaited agreement is signed (The Narwhal)

November 7, 2023 Ken Wu

The tripartite nature agreement comes with new and old funding to protect old-growth forests, species at risk

Federal, provincial and First Nations leaders gathered against the backdrop of Burrard Inlet Friday to announce a long-awaited nature agreement that promises further protections for old-growth forests and at-risk species.

Billion Dollar Nature Agreement Announced will Supercharge Protected Areas Expansion in BC!

November 3, 2023 Ken Wu

Conservationists thanked the BC and federal governments for the $1.1 billion launch of the BC Nature Agreement. The federal government has provided $500 million and BC is providing $563 million from diverse funding sources - now purposed towards achieving BC’s 30% by 2030 nature protection, conservation, and restoration goals via First Nations conservation agreements.

The Endangered Ecosystems Alliance (EEA) and Ancient Forest Alliance (AFA) are greatly applauding the BC and federal governments and the First Nations Leadership Council for launching the BC Nature Agreement, with $1.1 billion in funding to start, to help achieve BC’s minimum protected areas target of protecting 30% by 2030 of its land area. The tripartite agreement, negotiated between the BC government, federal government, and the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), comes with a $563 contribution from the province and a $500 million federal contribution. The fund will continue to grow with major contributions from the philanthropic community and potentially from future government budgets over time.

EEA's Feedback on Canada's National 2030 Biodiversity Strategy

July 13, 2023 Ken Wu

National Biodiversity Strategy feedback

What are the key features of a successful National Biodiversity Strategy?

Protected areas must constitute the foundation to reach the 25% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 minimum targets – not less stringent “conserved areas” that lack the protection standards (eg. may allow commercial logging and other industrial activities) and permanency (many are readily removable) of protected areas.

Ecosystem-based targets must be set by ecological science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge committees to protect the full diversity of ecosystems on a sufficient scale to ensure the long-term ecological viability of each ecosystem.

Media Release: Spin-filled Announcement Reveals BC Government’s Failure to Ensure Net Gains in Old-Growth Logging Deferrals

November 3, 2022 Ken Wu

**An ancient redcedar cut in the Caycuse Valley in 2021 on southern Vancouver Island in Ditidaht territory. Photo by TJ Watt**

Yesterday, the BC government released new and misleading statistics about old-growth logging on the one year anniversary of its science panel’s recommendations that logging should be deferred on millions of hectares of the most at-risk old-growth forests in BC. In November of 2021, the province’s independent science panel, the Technical Advisory Panel, recommended that the rarest, grandest, and oldest fraction of the remaining unprotected old-growth forests in BC, totalling 2.6 million hectares, be deferred from logging, while the province developed new management policies and legislation based on its Old-Growth Strategic Review panel’s recommendations.

The Narwhal: Canada underestimating 80 megatonnes of emissions from boreal logging: report

October 29, 2021 Ken Wu

New research finds that by overcounting the carbon storage of intact forests the undercounting emissions from logging, the Government of Canada is vastly underrporeting the climate impacts of clearcutting in one of the country’s greatest carbon sinks.

by Stephanie Wood

Amazing Ecosystems of Canada Mini-Documentary Video Series - Funding Request

April 16, 2021 Ken Wu

Our goal is to reach 10 million Canadians via social media over the next 6 months with this ecosystem mini-video series, featuring temperate rainforests, Interior dry forests, grasslands, foothills ecosystems, aspen parkland, southern deciduous forests, northern conifer forests, eastern mixed forests, and more...all as part of a major push to get provinces and the federal government to commit to more ambitious, ecosystem-based protected areas targets and the requisite support for Indigenous protected areas and land acquisition funding.

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