Great Bear Rainforest

Conclusion

Canada is one of only a few countries in the world where significant areas of frontier forest still remain. As defined by the World Resources Institute, frontier forests are the world's remaining large intact natural forest ecosystems. Canada's temperate rainforest is one such forest frontier.

Increasingly scientists are citing the temperate rainforest as one of the most rare and endangered ecosystems in the world. Even some governments, including that of British Columbia, are acknowledging that the impact of logging on species which reside in these rainforests is negative. A report published in 1996 by the BC Ministry of the Environment states that one in 10 plant and vertebrate species are vulnerable to extinction, and lists logging as one of the leading causes.

Over half of Canada's rich rainforest has already been cleared: of that, half has gone in the last 25 years. Industrial logging is planned for the remaining pristine rainforest valleys on Canada's Pacific coast. A review of logging companies' plans indicates that approximately half of these valleys will be roaded or logged within the next five years, severely fragmenting the remaining rainforest. Conservation biologists such as Dr. Reed Noss believe that the loss of further critical habitat for rainforest species such as the grizzly bear will impact survival rates.

Dr. E.C. Pielou, a scientist whose work has focused on Canada's temperate rainforest, believes that: "What we should insist upon is that logging, wherever it's done, be as 'environmentally friendly' as possible. This isn't an oxymoron. It amounts to saying that logging should be limited to non-pristine areas, and that even there it should be done in a way that doesn't destroy the variety of habitats that have had time to develop."

The World Resources Institute recommends that government policies should immediately halt further loss of frontier forests such as Canada's rainforest and goes on to say that, "The Earth's last frontier forests may indeed be the most valuable gift we can leave for our children. Guardians of biodiversity, indigenous cultures, and ecological processes, frontiers also provide recreational and ecotourism opportunities.

Because so many irreplaceable forests have already disappeared, the worth to future generations of those that remain is greater than ever."

The Great Bear Rainforest; a report on the ecology and global importance of Canada's temperate rainforest.

Published by
Greenpeace Information Office
250 Dundas Street West, Suite 605
Toronto, Ontario, M5T 2Z5
June, 1997

Writing: Jill Thomas Photography: Garth Lenz, Ian McAllister

Special thanks to the following individuals and organizations for contributing their expertise to this report:

Ian McAllister
Tamara Stark
Baden Cross
Valerie Langer
Matt Price
Jana Thomas
Joe Foy
Vicky Husband
Merran Smith
John Broadhead
David Boyd
Sue Danne
Sierra Club of British Columbia
Raincoast Conservation Society
Sean Markey
Robert Wener
British Columbia Conservation
Mapping Consortium
Jeanne Moffat
Patrick Anderson
Tzeporah Berman
Karen Mahon
Jim Ford
Peter Schoonmaker