Jeff Butterworth lived at the site for five months Fairy Creek, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where environmental activists have taken turns for a year and a half to prevent the forestry company Teal-Jones fromcut down 200 hectares of trees millennia.
Ancient natural ecosystems all over the planet are being destroyed. We protect what little we have left for future generations
, explains this 62-year-old teacher, recalling that these forests are important carbon sinks and reservoirs of biodiversity.
Arrests all around the world
In the field, environmentalists use all tactics: attach themselves to trees, erect dams, bury themselves … For their part, the police do not hesitate to take out shovels and pickaxes to dislodge them and open the switch to cutting machines. This has earned the Royal Canadian Mounted Police more than ninety complaints for excessive use of force, unreasonable arrests – a thousand opponents arrested! – or even refusal of medical care. This one claims to react in a way measured against civil disobedience and illegal acts
.
The demonstrators are indeed accused of violating an injunction of justice asking them to leave the premises. Teal-Jones argues that his work in the region secures hundreds of jobs while providing needed materials
. According to the BC Council of forest industries, the forestry sector weighs heavily: 13 billion dollars (8.8 billion euros), or 5% of the GDP of the province.
Shared natives
The Nation autochtone Pacheedaht, whose traditional territory includes the Fairy Creek Forest, is divided on the issue. Some of its members believe that the demonstrators have nothing to do on their land and must let them manage the resources of the forest. Others implore Canadians to join the movement.
Under pressure, the provincial government suspended logging of old growth forests in the Fairy Creek watershed for two years. But this moratorium does not cover all regions. This fall, we will introduce new legislation that will meet the expectations of British Columbians and ensure that the many benefits of our forests are available in the future.
, added the Ministry of Forests, Lands and the Exploitation of Natural Resources.
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