West Coast Environmental Law (WCEL) is spearheading a campaign asking British Columbia residents to hold the provincial government accountable on its promise to enact a new law to protect biodiversity. The proposed law is a key part of the transformative change needed for sustainability (specifically, Lever 3, Strengthening Environmental Law).
This campaign aims to hold BC’s government to its commitment to implement all 14 recommendations of the Old Growth Strategic Review Panel, including establishing an overarching law in support of biodiversity and ecosystem health. The law would be co-developed with Indigenous Peoples and apply across all sectors, aligning everyone’s actions from “forestry to fracking, highways to hydropower” to help protect the ecosystems that sustain us.
Why is this important? As the campaign states: “A holistic, overarching BC biodiversity law could be a game-changer for managing the cumulative effects of industrial development – and for maintaining forest ecosystems, clean water, thriving wildlife species, and healthy communities into the future.”
A blog by WCEL delves further into why such a law could be transformational. A key takeaway: the law could effectively transform BC’s decision-making towards respecting and prioritizing biodiversity and ecosystem health—a monumental shift away from the current management strategy that’s putting these very things at risk. This could close off potential loopholes or exceptions for environmentally detrimental behaviour by placing the well-being of the environment as the ultimate goal.
Join WCEL in pushing the provincial government to uphold this commitment: submit a letter here.