Biodiversity needs a law to protect species
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- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Tell the BC government to go the distance for ecosystems
Hi Paov,
The BC NDP came to power in 2017, promising a law to protect endangered species. Under intense lobbying by logging, mining and oil and gas companies, they backed away from this commitment.
Now they’ve stated their intention to prioritize ecosystems and biodiversity above resource extraction — it’s up to us to hold them to that. Anything other than a new law will continue to allow species to fall through the legal gaps toward extinction.
The province is asking for comments on the draft framework, and this is a crucial time to speak up for endangered species and make our voices heard.
This last month, we’ve seen a flurry of environmental announcements here in BC! At the end of October, the provincial government announced its conservation financing mechanism, a fund to help create needed protected areas to conserve old-growth forests... and biodiversity.
A week later, the tripartite Nature Agreement between BC, Canada, and First Nations followed, which redirects $1 billion towards Indigenous-led conservation.
On November 15, the BC government released its draft Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health Framework. If done right, this policy could set the table for a new law to prioritize biodiversity and ecosystem health. This law would apply to all industry sectors. The government has said it wants biodiversity to be protected. Biodiversity includes the variety of different species of wildlife and their populations. To protect biodiversity, we must protect species, especially those at risk.
Write into the public comment process and call for a law to protect species at risk and ecosystems that are co-developed with First Nations, with robust and immediate interim measures to protect threatened species in the meantime.
Thousands of BC residents, environmental groups and organizations like the Union of BC Indian Chiefs have called on the provincial government to pass such a law.
We’ve been fighting together to protect the incredible wildlife that makes BC so special for decades. We have a real chance now to win a law that finally protects them.
Let’s keep the pressure on!
For the wild,
Charlotte Dawe Conservation and Policy Campaigner
Wilderness Committee
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