In the north and central Pacific Coast planning regions, an area of immense beauty and diversity known as the Great Bear Rainforest, representatives from resource sectors, environmental groups, First Nations, local communities, tourism, labour and government worked hard together to find innovative solutions to issues related to land and resource management.
Final land use agreements, announced by the British Columbia government in 2006, included protection for 1.8 million hectares (4.4 million acres), or nearly one-third of the region. Logging is not allowed in another five per cent, bringing the total where no commercial forestry is allowed to 2.1 million hectares (more than five million acres). Where resource development is allowed, it will be guided by the principles of ecosystem-based management – an adaptive management approach that seeks to maintain a balance between environmental and socio-economic concerns.
In 2007, participants in the coast planning process were awarded WWF International’s Gift to the Earth Award in recognition of the creation of the protected areas, the participatory land use planning process that led to their identification and the establishment of an innovative and well-endowed conservation and sustainable development funding mechanism to support coastal communities.
Sources
British Columbia Integrated Land Management Bureau: http://ilmbwww.gov.bc.ca
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