At the heart of the hearings to decide the future of the Great Bear Sea and Rainforest is whether, and under what conditions, we should permit super tankers and a bitumen pipeline in one of the last intact temperate coastal rainforests on Earth.
The hearings to decide the future of the Great Bear Sea and Rainforest got off to quite a start this week. Big oil, foreign intrigue, a grassroots uprising, dueling polls, angry Ministers; this one has all the makings of a blockbuster. No wonder the media interest has been so strong. But all this fervor has obscured the heart of the matter, which is whether and under what conditions we should permit super tankers and a bitumen pipeline in one of the last intact temperate coastal rainforests on Earth.
I suspect most Canadians would be surprised that the proposed route of the Enbridge pipeline bisects this ecological treasure. Pipeline proponents would rather frame this issue around developing an Asian market for oil sands bitumen – and the allegedly nefarious U.S.-based interests who would prevent U.S. from doing so – than have a science-based debate about the very real risks associated with getting it there via this route.
It is the peculiar Canadian paradox that we are blessed with such natural beauty and abundance that we often fail to value it appropriately. Even by our standards, however, the Great Bear is a special place. It is the only habitat in the world for the Spirit Bear, which is rarer than the Giant Panda. Humpbacks, orcas and many other species of cetaceans take advantage of this uniquely quiet cold ocean to prosper. Eagles are as plentiful as sparrows are in Canada’s urban parks. January 11, 2012 Posted by Gerald Butts
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All five species of Pacific salmon are present, providing the basis for a prosperous fishery. When spawned out or dragged into the forest by grizzlies and bald eagles, these fish deliver the nitrogen needed to grow trees to a size they have no business reaching at this latitude. This in turn allows for healthy and sustainable forestry.
Mercifully, the communities that have been sustained by this wondrous ecosystem for millennia do not share our paradoxical undervaluing of nature. B.C.’s Coastal First Nations know well that Great Bear’s value as a functioning ecosystem dwarfs the tantalizing but fleeting promise of short-term cash from oil revenues.
And they know from history what we know from traditional science: that this meticulously interconnected ecosystem is very vulnerable to disruption. A toxic event, even in Enbridge’s own estimation, cannot be ruled out. The 1,170-kilometre pipeline would divide the rainforest, crossing countless salmon rivers. At Kitimat, toxic diluted bitumen would be loaded onto supersized tankers. Each year, more than 200 would travel through narrow fjords out into some of the world’s most treacherous seas.
This isn’t the first time the Great Bear has been threatened. Just 25 years ago, it was slated to be clear-cut. After 15 years of conflict, a group of unlikely allies found a solution. First Nations, forestry companies, NGOs, the Harper and Campbell governments and both Canadian and U.S.-based philanthropists came together to create a world-leading model of ecosystem management and economic development. By combining conservation with better logging practices, and using a public-private funding model to finance new economic development, we found a way to protect the environment and the economy of the Great Bear.
The current question of whether foreign interests can participate in the NEB hearings is curious in this context. Should we prohibit oil sands companies, the majority of which are foreign-owned and operated? It also hypocritical, given that the industry and government has spent untold millions to lobby foreign governments, air PR campaigns in foreign markets and solicit foreign direct investment in the oil sands. The message we are sending the world is that you are free to come to Canada to exploit nature, but not to protect it.
In the interests of full disclosure, less than two per cent of our revenue came from U.S. foundations that have been targeted by smear campaigns recently. We are proud to add that support to the larger contributions we receive from almost 150,000 like-minded Canadians. We are also proud to provide a platform for Canadians who care deeply about conserving nature around the world, from the Amazon to tiger habitats of Russia and south Asia. Most important, we are transparent about our sources and uses of revenue (see wwf.ca), which cannot be said for those leading this spurious campaign.
Ultimately, this debate is a red herring designed to distract. The Great Bear is globally significant. If this development were proposed for the Amazon or the Great Barrier Reef, people around the world would engage. These are irreplaceable sites and input from global citizens who care about nature should be welcome. This expectation ought to be second nature in an open-society such as ours.
A version of this opinion piece ran in The Globe and Mail on January 11, 2012.
http://blog.wwf.ca/blog/2012/01/11/deciding-the-future-of-a-canadian-ecological-treasure/#.UDOdx-ik6X0.facebook
Great Bear Sea
No place for a pipeline
The Great Bear region of British Columbia’s north coast is one of Canada’s ecological treasures. Here one of the world’s last intact temperate rainforest meets some of the planet’s last large wild rivers and most productive coldwater seas. This is no place for an oil pipeline.
All five species of Pacific salmon are found here. It’s home to humpback and orca whales, as well as dolphins and porpoises. Extraordinary animals like Pacific coastal wolves and the rare white Spirit Bears live nowhere else on Earth.
This is one of the richest and most spectacular ecosystems on our planet. And its future is in our hands.
Raise your voice to protect the Great Bear Sea
The Northern Gateway Project proposes to build twin pipelines from the Alberta tar sands through the Great Bear, to the BC coast. The 1,170-kilometre route would bisect the rainforest. The pipelines would transport toxic oil sands bitumen across hundreds of salmon streams. The pipeline would bring as many as 220 supersized oil tankers into B.C’s sensitive coastal waters every year.
The Enbridge Northern Gateway Project Joint Review Panel (JRP) is accepting letters of comment from all Canadians as part of this democratic process until August 31. Take action to make your own views and concerns about the project known.
Find out what’s at stake in the Great Bear Sea
- Use the form on the Panel website at
www.gatewaypanel.review.gc.ca
- Send it by fax to 403-292-5503
or toll free fax at 1-877-288-8803
Attention: Secretary to the Joint Review Panel.
- Mail it to:
Secretary to the Joint Review Panel
Enbridge Northern Gateway Project
444 Seventh Avenue S.W.
Calgary Alberta
T2P 0X8
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