2024 R02 – Conservation of Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region
- Year: 2024
- AVICC Number: R02
- Parksville
Whereas the UNESCO-designated Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) includes five watershed regions and the Coastal Douglas-fir moist maritime biogeoclimatic subzone, which is the smallest and most at-risk zone in BC and is of conservation concern;
And whereas habitat loss and fragmentation due to human development and unsustainable consumption and production patterns are among the major causes of diminishing biodiversity within the MABR:
Therefore be it resolved that AVICC urge the Province to conserve through purchase thirty percent of lands within the MABR to meet the thirty percent of BC’s land by 2030 provincial conservation target;
And be it further resolved that AVICC urge the Province, in accordance with the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation signed between Canada, British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council (FNLC), to include land conservation policies within the MABR.
- Year: 2024
- AVICC Number: R02
- Sponsor: Parksville
- Resolution Type: Regional
- Category: Land Use
- AVICC Decision: Endorsed
- AVICC Action: Conveyed to Province, Facilitated Minister Meeting at UBCM
- AVICC Response link
- Provincial Response:Thank you for your letter of June 17, 2024, to the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship (WLRS), regarding Conservation of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR). As Deputy Minister, I am pleased to respond and apologize for the lengthy delay. We understand that the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities (AVICC) is urging the Province to conserve, through purchase, 30 percent of lands within the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region (MABR) to contribute to the provincial conservation target by 2030. WLRS is committed to working in partnership with First Nations communities, all levels of government, and other partners to achieve the provincial conservation target. Regarding the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation (TFANC), a recently updated website provides more information and links to funding and application processes: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/natural-resource-stewardship/tripartite-framework-agreement-on-nature-conservation WLRS is actively engaged in discussions with First Nation, local governments, and other partners about several priority sites in the MABR. These watersheds are indeed notable, given their many ecologically significant species and designation as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) biosphere reserve. These discussions extend to existing partnership with Nature Trust of British Columbia and Ducks Unlimited Canada to acquire, protect and manage lands of ecological significance on Vancouver Island through the West Coast Conservation Land Management Program (including the Parksville-Qualicum Beach and Green Mountain Wildlife Management Areas).
- UBCM Response link
The AVICC acknowledges that we are grateful to live, work, and play on the traditional territories of theCoast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth and Kwak-Waka’wakw Peoples