Disappearing giants
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- Published on Monday, 19 October 2020 07:12
- Written by editor
We can protect BC’s endangered rainforests – if we act now
British Columbia is known for its iconic old growth forests, but less than 1% of the province's forests have giant trees left standing – and unless we work fast to protect these endangered giants from reckless logging, they’re at risk of disappearing forever.
Back in June, more than 25,000 members of the Stand.earth community came together and launched a rapid response campaign to get the BC government to declare an emergency moratorium on old growth logging. And the government responded – by making lukewarm promises to protect select patches of forest, most of which were already protected or aren’t even old trees at all.
With a BC election coming up in less than two weeks, this is a pivotal moment to ramp up the pressure, and convince all the major political parties to include promises to protect old growth forests in their campaign platforms. The current coalition government needs to secure the support of environmentally-conscious voters to have a shot at getting re-elected – but first we need to convince them that forest protection is a priority.
We have a plan to directly reach all the candidates from the three major parties, as well as hundreds of thousands of BC voters, but we need your help to put our plan into action.
DONATE TO PROTECT FORESTSThe British Columbian coast is one of the longest intact stretches of temperate rainforest left standing in the world, and it’s teetering on the brink of destruction. What used to be an unbroken line of thousands of kilometers of Pacific coastal rainforest, running from Alaska down to California, today only exists in small fragments. And with recent wildfires raging through temperate rainforests in California, Oregon and Washington, it’s even more crucial to protect these last standing giants.
Back in June, we asked for your support to launch a rapid response campaign to protect these disappearing giants – and our collective pressure is working. Tens of thousands of you have joined the campaign so far, and together we’ve sent over 14,000 personal emails to government decision-makers.
Together with allies, we’ve convinced the BC government to make this a priority. That’s the good news. The bad news is that the promises don’t go nearly far enough and don’t yet include the most important old growth panel recommendation – we still need an immediate moratorium on old growth logging while a long-term plan is developed to protect old growth forests. Otherwise, these iconic giant trees will just keep falling at a shocking rate.
Thanks to the support of the Stand.earth community, our research team is also right at this moment following giant trees straight from the cut blocks where they’re still getting logged, through to lumber and pulp mills, factories where they're turned into consumer goods, and finally to the shelves where these majestic giants are being sold as household paper and wood products. Soon we'll know exactly which brands are fuelling forest destruction.
But in the meantime, we have an urgent opportunity to make sure that the next BC government takes strong action to protect forests, starting with an emergency moratorium on old growth logging, and followed by a promise to implement all of the recommendations of the expert panel on old growth.
Will you join us in protecting old growth forests with a one-time donation today?
Working towards large-scale protection of majestic forested areas is just the kind of work Stand.earth was created to take on. Protecting forests is in our DNA, back from when we were founded more than 20 years ago as ForestEthics. Over the years we've been proud to help protect millions of acres from logging in the Great Bear Rainforest, Northern boreal forest, and in Chile.
We're so glad you're part of this campaign and part of the Stand community. Our team is fewer than 50 people, but this community is more than 425,000 people strong and growing – and together, we're using our collective power to fight climate change, protect wild spaces, stand with impacted communities, and say no to new fossil fuels.
Thank you for standing up for these ancient forests,
Tegan Hansen
Forests Campaigner
Stand.earth
Stand.earth challenges corporations, industries, and governments to prioritize the well-being of people, our environment, and our climate by creating long-term, effective solutions. None of this work is possible without your support.
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