Tag Archives: Great Bear Rainforest

Forests, Indigenous Nations

Indigenous Peoples are more protective of forests and biodiversity, study finds

A new UBC led study of 111 peer-reviewed papers found that forests and biodiversity are better, or at least equally, protected if they are managed by Indigenous peoples. Between 2005 and 2012, vegetation loss in native areas of the Brazilian Amazon was 17 times lower. In Australia, 60% of the nation’s 1,574 threatened species were found on Indigenous lands. In the United States, Indigenous lands harbour more mature trees and higher tree volume. Close to two-thirds of the articles noted that Indigenous peoples were themselves threatened, and some offered suggestions to either provide resources or strengthen their tenure over the land. While little of the material dealt with British Columbia, lead author William Nikolakis has worked with First Nations in the Interior and was prepared to comment.   

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Energy, Indigenous Nations, Politics

Coastal First Nations hit back after pundits and politicians challenge its legitimacy in pipeline debate

By Sonal Gupta, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Disagreements over a proposal to build a pipeline to the BC coast has ignited a debate over who has the right to speak on behalf of First Nations. 

After Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a memorandum of understanding with Alberta to advance a new bitumen pipeline to the Pacific coast, he met with Coastal First Nations (CFN) leaders in January. 

BC Conservative leadership candidate Yuri Fulmer jumped in on X (formerly Twitter) to label CFN “just an advocacy group,” like a brand name. Fulmer claimed it is funded by foreign anti-energy groups and said if he becomes premier he will ban any foreign-funded organizations that attempt to influence BC politics.

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Parks, Politics

Conservative candidate targets Great Bear Sea marine protection plan

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Northern Vancouver Island Federal Conservative Party candidate Aaron Gunn wants to sink plans for a network of Indigenous-led marine protected areas on the West Coast.

A month before announcing his bid in September 2023 to become the North Island-Powell River candidate, the right-wing social media personality from Victoria released a YouTube video taking aim at the B.C. Northern Shelf Marine Protected Area (MPA) Network, better known as the Great Bear Sea MPA Network. 

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Rivers & Oceans

Janie Wray: Listening to Whales

Over 100 people came to the Quadra Community Centre on December 7, to learn about the acoustic dialects and social connections of Orca, Humpback and Fin Whales. Sierra Quadra invited Janie Wray –  CEO and co-founder of the North Coast Cetacean Society, BC Whales, and the manager of the BC Hydrophone Network – to share from her more than two decades of research.

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Environment, Indigenous Nations

The Story Behind ‘Keepers of the Land’

The audio version of this story begins with a solitary male voice raised in a seemingly ageless First Nations chant. Then Doug Neasloss, elected chief counselor of the Kitasoo Xai’xais First Nation, states, “We’ve always had the responsibility to steward, that’s what we are doing.” 

The clip was taken from Deirdre Leowinata and Tavish Campbell’s documentary ‘Keepers of the Land.’ They spent two years working with the Kitasoo Xai’ Xais in Klemtu, more than 350 miles north of Cortes and Quadra Islands.

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