What鈥檚 good for the environment is good for the economy. That鈥檚 a concept most British Columbians embrace and it鈥檚 what the sa国际传媒 Chamber of Commerce appears to have decided in seeking protection for some old-growth forests.
The chamber voted this week to ask the province to expand protection of old-growth forests in areas where they have, or likely would have, greater economic value if left standing.
The resolution also called on the province to enact new regulations 鈥� incorporating such strategies as an old-growth management area, wildlife-habitat area or land-use order 鈥� with an eye on eventually legislating permanent protection through provincial-park or conservancy status.
The doesn鈥檛 mean the chamber of commerce has suddenly become an environmental-advocacy group 鈥� it still has its eye firmly on the economy. The proposal applies only to old-growth forests in areas accessible for tourism 鈥� the chamber still supports loggers鈥� rights to harvest timber for more remote forest stands, even if they have ecological value.
Still, it鈥檚 an acknowledgment that forests can have value beyond the amount of timber than can be taken out of them.
Natural resources have always been important to sa国际传媒 鈥� logging, mining and fishing have long been mainstays of the province鈥檚 economy. But sa国际传媒 is also known for its incredible natural environment, and the province鈥檚 two aspects often collide.
The conflict between the economy and the environment reached a peak in the mid-1990s, when protests and blockades were set up to prevent the clear-cutting of old-growth forest in Clayoquot Sound. It was a tipping point that brought about a major shift in policies and attitudes.
The timber industry was no longer 鈥渒ing鈥� in sa国际传媒, and non-aboriginals began increasingly to see through the eyes of peoples for whom the forest has been home for millennia. It moved us closer to a balance between protecting the environment and sustainably harvesting its resources.
It鈥檚 an uneasy balance and, sadly, is often not achieved, but at least 鈥渟ustainability鈥� and 鈥渆nvironmentally friendly鈥� are widely accepted as worthwhile goals. It鈥檚 becoming more widely accepted that a healthy environment and a healthy economy are not mutually exclusive.
In fact, as the sa国际传媒 Chamber of Commerce indicates in its motion, protecting the environment can be good for business.
Old-growth forests and other pristine areas of sa国际传媒 attract an increasing number of visitors, and will continue to generate jobs forever. When an area is logged off, the jobs are gone until the forest regenerates, and that takes a long, long time. We should remember, too, that forests are about more than esthetics or recreation 鈥� they are vital to the health of our watersheds and even the air we breathe.
Businesses are increasingly recognizing that environmental sustainability is not only good business, it is essential. More and more investors are demanding that corporations be environmentally responsible as well as fiscally responsible.
They have recognized what we must all recognize 鈥� that if we don鈥檛 look after the environment, we won鈥檛 have an economy.
