Historic milestone reached in protecting Canada's Great Bear Rainforest

Greenpeace announced today that an historic agreement with logging companies has been reached on the conservation of Canada's remaining coastal rainforest. The consensus recommendations have been forwarded to the Government of British Columbia for its approval (1). This follows an intense global campaign by the international organisation targeting the trade and investments of companies involved with logging the endangered Great Bear Rainforest.

The Great Bear Rainforest on the coast of British Columbia (BC) is home to thousands of species of plants, birds and animals including the rare Kermode or spirit bears, wolves, bald eagles and endangered salmon runs.

Over the past months, Greenpeace has been running a major campaign to urge coastal forest companies, International Forest Products (Interfor) and West Fraser, to return to formal negotiations over the pristine and ecologically important areas of the Great Bear Rainforest and to support a long-term moratorium on logging whilst conservation plans are resolved for the region (2). Protests have been carried out by Greenpeace in Europe, North America and China and Japan, with blockades of wood shipments, protests at embassies, retail outlets and lumber yards, aimed at persuading investors and customers to demand an end to the destruction.

Greenpeace has reached agreement with Interfor and West Fraser setting out the necessary steps to ensure that this globally rare ancient forest is protected, logging practices are transformed and long-term solutions are implemented. The agreement allows for permanent protection of 20 rainforest valleys, deferrals of logging in another 68 valleys, and an ongoing process towards protecting the health of the Great Bear Rainforest over a one to two year time frame (3).

"This is a great leap forward in securing the future of Canada's rainforest," said Greenpeace Canada's forest campaign coordinator in Vancouver, Tamara Stark. "We're now counting on the BC Premier Ujjal Dosanjh to do the right thing and endorse this package."

Canadian & British fund managers have divested shares in logging companies, and dozens of companies have voiced strong concerns over the practices of BC logging companies. These include Home Depot (the world's largest DIY store) and the powerful pulp buyers such as the German paper and magazine association. Companies such as Amdega, (the world's largest conservatory manufacturer), Auspine (Australian timber importer), and the Italian supermarket chain Coop, the Belgian Timber Trade Federation (representing Belgian timber importers) and other companies in New Zealand, China and The Netherlands have all ceased buying products derived from Interfor. In Japan alone over 70 companies including Mitsubishi & Fujiya have stopped buying from Interfor following the release of a report naming Japanese customers.

"Logging companies are finally realising that a commitment to real change in the forest is the only way to find security in the global marketplace," said Phil Aikman, Greenpeace International's global markets campaign co-ordinator. "A commitment now by the BC government would send a strong signal to global customers of BC forest products that it is serious about moving down a path of environmental leadership in forest conservation and forest stewardship."

The Greenpeace campaign to protect the Great Bear Rainforest is part of a global campaign to protect the world's remaining ancient forests which are rapidly being lost to destructive logging practices, the largest single threat to their continued survival.

Notes for editors:
1. While the ultimate land use designation for many intact rainforest valleys remains to be resolved, this agreement - if recognised by the BC Government - would represent a significant step forward and creates a timeline by which responsible ecosystem-based forest management can take place. Protection of the valleys is subject to ratification by First Nations, in whose traditional territory the valleys lie. Any protection should accommodate the traditional needs of these communities.

2. Last May, Interfor & West Fraser walked away from landmark negotiations over a potential moratorium on logging in pristine and key ecological areas of the Great Bear Rainforest. Seventy-seven per of British Columbians supported these negotiations according to an April 2000 opinion poll.

3. The bilateral agreement with Interfor also tackles controversial issues such as logging in the Elaho Valley north of Vancouver, and proposed logging in Clayoquot Sound on Vancouver Island by Interfor.