The BCGEU is calling on the BC Government to adopt climate change actions outlined today in Managing BC's Forests for a Cooler Planet [1], a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives' Climate Justice Project.
The CCPA report makes ten recommendations, including an appeal for increased forest conservation, an end to unacceptably high wood waste at logging operations and a commitment to a no net deforestation policy. The report comes amid plans for deep cuts to the Ministry of Forests, cuts that could mean BC forest companies will be subjected to fewer audits.
BCGEU members perform a variety of duties in the management and enforcement of forest regulations in BC. The duties include conducting audits, inspections and surveys, monitoring the Annual Allowable Cut, detecting and managing disease and insects in the forests and ensuring forest companies comply with replanting obligations.
The BC Government's September 2009 budget saw the elimination of 16 BCGEU jobs in the Ministry of Forests. At the same time workers were told the ministry's staff count would be reduced by 14 percent during the next few years.
"If we don't have forest technologists on the ground, we have no way of knowing whether conservation and reforestation guidelines are being followed", says Darryl Walker, BCGEU president. "The gradual elimination of jobs means proper resource management will not occur. Forest companies will be left to monitor themselves."
The BCGEU is a co-publisher of the Managing BC's Forests for a Cooler Planet report and a partner in the CCPA's Climate Justice Project, a multi-year initiative examining climate change through a social justice lens.
For more information, contact Mary Rowles, BCGEU Director of Research, Campaigns and Communications at (604) 291-9611 or (604) 562-9267 (cell).
