On September 29, 2021 the conservation group Wildsight is hosting a free webinar with Dr. Peter Wood, following the release of the provincial government鈥檚 Strategic Climate Risk Assessment. Wildsight says the assessment lacks any mention of the impact of the logging industry on the projected climate change risks listed in the document.

The Strategic Climate Risk Assessment is a 427-page document that identifies 15 climate risks to communities around the province.

Environmental group Sierra Club BC hired Dr. Wood to analyze existing research in order to determine the logging industry鈥檚 impact on climate change and the risks it poses to B.C. communities.

鈥淲hat we saw when we looked at some of the science that鈥檚 available is that more intensively managed landscapes 鈥� so the industrial forest landscapes of heavy clearcutting / replanting 鈥� tend to be more fire prone,鈥� Wood said.

The 鈥淪ave Forests; safe communities鈥� webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. MST will be a presentation of Wood鈥檚 findings, and Wildsight encourages anyone interested in forestry practices and the health of the province鈥檚 communities to join.

Wood has drawn his discoveries from around 120 scientific sources and has produced a report entitled: Intact Forests, Safe Communities.

According to Wildsight, he found that of the 15 climate risks highlighted in the Strategic Climate Risk Assessment, nine will be impacted by forest management practises.

鈥淲hat he found was that we can reduce the risk of climate-related disasters in BC by reforming our current forestry practices,鈥� read a Wildsight press release.

鈥淩epercussions from logging go beyond summer wildfires too. Older forests act as moderating influences on the landscape, absorbing and releasing water more slowly, thereby reducing the risks of flooding and landslides.鈥�

Wildsight adds logging can pose threats to community water supplies as well, due to companies turning more to forests that feed into these supplies as easily-accessible timber supplies dwindle.

In his report, Wood references Peachland, B.C., which recently had to spend $24 million on a water filtration plant after clearcutting practises damaged the natural filtration system that kept their water clean.

Wood鈥檚 research surmises that in order to protect B.C.鈥檚 remaining intact forests and in doing so mitigate increased climate risk, a 鈥渇undamental paradigm shift鈥� is needed that places values like biodiversity and combating climate change ahead of profits.

You can register for the webinar here:

paul.rodgers@kimberleybulletin
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