B.C. Premier David Eby announces $300-million fund to conserve biodiversity and old-growth forests

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B.C. has launched a $300-million fund that will allow individuals and philanthropic groups to help conserve biodiversity and old-growth forests, though questions remain about its lack of detail and timeline.

The funding mechanism, announced Thursday by B.C. Premier David Eby, features $150-million from the province and a matching $150-million commitment from the B.C. Parks Foundation to pay for measures such as new protected areas, Indigenous guardian programs and low-carbon businesses.

Environmental groups such as Endangered Ecosystems Alliance and Nature United have welcomed the new initiative, saying it could help mobilize private capital and develop new, Indigenous-led business and partnerships with environmental, social and cultural benefits.

“The changes that need to happen to ensure we protect nature, advance natural climate solutions, support communities and economic development – it is going to cost money,” said Hadley Archer, executive director of Nature United, a conservation group.

“We’re really pleased to see the province make this announcement – and what it can do, is mobilize private financing.”

Through the B.C. Parks Foundation, individuals and organizations from the province and elsewhere will be able to contribute to the fund. It will be managed by the foundation and overseen independently from government by a special committee made up of experts, half of whom will be First Nations, the province said in a statement.

But there were also concerns, including a lack of detail in exactly what would be funded and when new protected areas would be in place.

“All the money in the world won’t bring back forests and other ecosystems destroyed while funding mechanisms and planning processes are set up,” Torrance Coste, national campaign director with the Vancouver-based Wilderness Committee, said in a statement. Aerial surveys and other research has shown that logging has continued in some old-growth areas, he noted.

Poor data hinders B.C. old-growth logging deferrals, advocates say

B.C. has been grappling with old-growth logging controversies for decades. In 2020, a government-commissioned Old Growth Strategic Review made 14 recommendations, including Indigenous involvement and immediate logging deferrals in areas of high risk. In November, 2021, the province announced a process to temporarily defer harvesting in priority forests, provided First Nations agreed with the proposal in their territories, allowing time for longer-term planning.

But conservation groups said forests mapped as candidates for deferral continued to be targeted by logging companies and pressed the government for more action, including funding for First Nations that might face loss of forestry revenues if some areas were put off-limits to logging.

Some First Nations have already declared protected areas or wildlife corridors in their territories, and the new funding will help support those communities as they develop land management plans, said Terry Teegee, a board member of B.C. Parks Foundation and regional chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations, in a statement.

Asked about the potential impact of the program, Mr. Archer of Nature United cited the Great Bear Rainforest, where since 2007, a mix of private and government funds has helped pay for guardian programs, sustainable energy projects, ecotourism, aquaculture and other businesses. The B.C. and federal governments each put in $30-million, which was matched by $60-million in philanthropic donations. That initial investment has since pulled in an additional $370-million for conservation programs, according to the province.

“Jobs, businesses and community well-being have been success stories, in addition to protecting biodiversity and creating new protected areas,” Mr. Archer said, adding that the Great Bear Rainforest model also provides certainty for industry, with forestry continuing in the region.

According to the province, about 18.5 million hectares, or about 20 per cent of B.C.’s total land area, is protected and conserved. The province has a goal of protecting 30 per cent by 2030, as does the federal government.