FOREST PRACTICES CODE ROLLBACKS A GIANT STEP BACKWARDS FOR BC FOREST INDUSTRY

2 April 1998

(Vancouver, BC)-- Greenpeace today condemned announced amendments to the Forest Practices Code as being environmentally and economically short-sighted.

"At a time when international consumers and the B.C public are calling on the government and forest industry to increase protection for our ancient forests, this government is making it easier for the forest industry to ignore threatened wildlife and endangered salmon and create larger clearcuts," said Greenpeace Forests Campaigner Karen Mahon. "BC's forest industry is in crisis because it has been logging too much, too fast, for too long. What we really need from the Clark government is vision and leadership in order to ensure that we still have ancient forests and jobs for B.C in ten years."

According to the government's press release today the Ministry of Forests will now, "Encourage industry to increase the average cutblock size." In addition, the government's release also notes that "The maximum amount of soil disturbance may be exceeded for the construction of temporary logging trails."

The majority of the more than 550 changes to the code will significantly reduce environmental protection. Some of the changes include:

* ENDANGERED SPECIES: eliminates the only rule that could restrict clearcutting the habitat of endangered species (Forest Practices Code, Operational Planning Regulation s.24).

* NO ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT: irrevocable approval for logging five years into the future before key environmental information has been gathered and assessed (OPR s. 15).

The government's announcement comes in the wake of recent decisions by major European and U.S. buyers to stop purchasing products derived from the clearcutting of BC's ancient rainforests and move to products that have been given independent ecological certification.

"Industry and government have been trying to convince the international marketplace that BC has world class standards. Today's changes clearly indicate that government and industry are ignoring all the marketplace indicators. Increasing the size of clearcuts and ignoring habitat requirements for endangered species will only exacerbate concerns in BC's major markets," said Mahon.

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