Connecting Past and Present

January 30, 2022 By: wei zhang

One major theme in connecting the past to the present is that conservations are the only way to save our environment from degradation and destruction. However, when comparing the conservation efforts of various countries, Canada seems to be lagging in implementing policies that protect natural resources like forests. For instance, a recent news article by Mongabay illustrates that British Columbia is at risk of losing its last old-growth[1]. According to the article, when old-growth advocates came forward last year, a sense of hope was provided to all those conservationists since it meant that endangered trees in the forest would be protected. Consequently, a 71-page report was commissioned by NDP detailing how land, where these vanishing trees are, would be used.[2]. Since relevant authorities adopted the report, environmentalists saw this as a huge win. Despite such a report being developed, almost half of the area meant to be protected remains open to logging. Therefore, it seems that Canada is slowly slipping away from the bright future promised by politicians on the protection of these forests. From the above article, it is clear that Canada’s sustainable economic growth model is s preferred the most rather than sustainable development.

Another news article indicates an increase in the loss of global forests in 2020. According to the article, forest loss has remained persistently high in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted all livelihoods worldwide, leading to the economy’s decline of 3.5%. Despite this economic decline, the loss of primary tropical forests increased by 12% compared to the previous years.[3]. From these statistics, it is clear that significant impacts of the pandemic on the forests are likely to come in the future. From the above news article, one obvious thing is that most governments have become complacent when protecting forests. Furthermore, the news articles reaffirm that countries like Canada, which operate on a model of sustainable economic growth, are unlikely to illustrate a decline of forest destruction since it is a critical part of their economy. Efforts to recover the Canadian economy from the pandemic have made politicians more complacent on the issue of deforestation. Therefore, unless stronger conservation laws are implemented, we are unlikely to see a decrease in forest shrinkage in the world.

[1] Scherer, Glenn. 2022. “With British Columbia’S Last Old-Growth At Risk, Government Falters: Critics”. Mongabay Environmental News. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/with-british-columbias-last-old-growth-at-risk-government-falters-critics/.

[2] Scherer, Glenn. 2022. “With British Columbia’S Last Old-Growth At Risk, Government Falters: Critics”. Mongabay Environmental News. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/04/with-british-columbias-last-old-growth-at-risk-government-falters-critics/.

[3] Butler, Rhett. 2022. “Global Forest Loss Increased In 2020”. Mongabay Environmental News. https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/global-forest-loss-increases-in-2020-but-pandemics-impact-unclear/.