On September 29, 2021 the conservation group Wildsight is hosting a free webinar with Dr. Peter Wood, following the release of the provincial governmentsa国际传媒檚 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 industrysa国际传媒檚 impact on climate change and the risks it poses to B.C. communities.

sa国际传媒淲hat we saw when we looked at some of the science thatsa国际传媒檚 available is that more intensively managed landscapes sa国际传媒� so the industrial forest landscapes of heavy clearcutting / replanting sa国际传媒� tend to be more fire prone,sa国际传媒� Wood said.

The sa国际传媒淪ave Forests; safe communitiessa国际传媒� webinar on Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. MST will be a presentation of Woodsa国际传媒檚 findings, and Wildsight encourages anyone interested in forestry practices and the health of the provincesa国际传媒檚 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.

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

sa国际传媒淩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.sa国际传媒�

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.

Woodsa国际传媒檚 research surmises that in order to protect B.C.sa国际传媒檚 remaining intact forests and in doing so mitigate increased climate risk, a sa国际传媒渇undamental paradigm shiftsa国际传媒� 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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