Documentary Reflection

January 30, 2022 By: wei zhang

A current environmental issue that continues to be debated in Canada is the choice between maintaining industries and the need to conserve nature. According to a news article by Mongabay, the constant loss of forests requires the government to take a stand between maintaining the logging industry or implementing conservation efforts that will save forests[1]. Although various laws in the protection of forests exist in British Columbia, none of them are doing much to reduce or eliminate the destruction of forests. For instance, the existing laws protect wildlife, forests, wilderness recreations, and other visual impacts. However, there is an Annual Allowable Cut of 10% despite these laws existing, making it easy for loggers and other resource extractors to go around it. Therefore, this has made forest activists ascertain that British Columba is still holding on to their old mantra of the forest industry and then nature a distant second.

In looking at politicians’ views on the issue, it is clear they want to satisfy the need of those who are industry-first while those for nature are assumed. According to Merkel, a politician in British Columbia, the only way deforestation can be resolved is by fundamentally changing the paradigm that has been used to manage the ecosystem. Merkel believes that the government is doing everything it can to balance out the effect of both industry and nature. However, before such a solution is determined, the government is ready to accept that some trees species like old-growth will go extinct.

My view on the above scenario is that a debate between nature and industry should not exist. Canada has taken this long to realize the impacts of deforestation on our climate means that the government has been quite complacent. Recent evidence of climate change is enough o show why nature should come first and not industry. Although the industry is critical to the well-being of those living in the area, it will not exist in a few years because trees will not be cut off and sold. Therefore, it is high time that a decision on saving the forest is arrived at and implemented. The environmental history of Canada conducted in previous exercises shows that it might be difficult for the country to change the economic model. However, Canada’s current environment will be maintained by adopting a sustainable development model rather than an economic growth model.

[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