Dear Friends:
We wanted to let you know about another big step towards success in efforts to help preserve a healthy future for the Great Bear Rainforest in British Columbia.
Just a few weeks ago, the Canadian federal government announced its intention to contribute the final $30 CAD million for a $120 CAD million financing package to promote conservation management and economic diversification in the Great Bear Rainforest. This unique initiative is the result of collaboration between environmental organizations, industry, First Nations leaders and the Canadian government and lays the groundwork for future conservation successes around the globe.
To help put together this innovative financing package, U.S. and Canadian funders and NGOs, including The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation, Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Tides Canada Foundation and The Nature Conservancy have raised more than $60 CAD million. These funds, combined with $30 CAD million previously committed by the government of British Columbia, create two public-private funds totaling $120 CAD million for work in the Great Bear Rainforest.
The funds will be used to create conservation jobs and ecologically sustainable businesses such as Forest Watchman programs and ecotourism ventures in First Nations communities to help ensure that they prosper as the forest prospers. In addition, at least 5 million acres of the rainforest will be protected from logging and 18 million acres are expected to be carefully managed through a science-based framework called ecosystem-based management.
The historic land use agreements in the Great Bear Rainforest mark a watershed event in modern conservation and recognize that a sustainable economy is vital to a sustainable environment.
The next big challenge for all of the involved parties will be making these agreements real on the ground. Protected areas alone are not enough to ensure the long-term health and survival of the plants, animals and people of the Great Bear Rainforest. Over the next three years, the successful development and implementation of ecosystem-based management within the rainforest is key to the success of the Great Bear Rainforest project.
We are excited to be part of this innovative project and hope that it can be used as a model for combining conservation with sustainable human use around the world. Key elements of the Great Bear initiative that could be applicable in other settings include:
- The focus on a structured dialogue among diverse interests to build consensus around solutions for the region;
- The cultivation of broad coalitions that brought NGOs and foundations together to increase the effectiveness of conservation efforts;
- The creation of new legal designations designed to protect both biodiversity and the rights and interests of indigenous people;
- The application of science to establish protected area networks and develop new, ecologically appropriate management regimes; and
- The emphasis on weaving biodiversity protection and conservation-based economic planning into a comprehensive plan for the region.
Please help us spread the word about what’s happening in the Great Bear by emailing your members and/or grantees, highlighting the Great Bear on your Web site, and including this victory in your next publication.
Sincerely,
Susan Bell, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Aileen Moore, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Chris DeCardy, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation
Michael Northrop, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rebecca Patton, The Nature Conservancy
P.S. To make it easy to let others know about this new conservation model, we have put together a sample email, newsletter article and Web posting (along with pictures). To access these documents, please visit: http://www.hewlett.org/Programs/Environment/great+bear+materials