Media Release: Kwiakah First Nation Transitions Tree Farm Licenses Into “Living Tree” Tenures to Establish a Conservation Economy on Their Territory

Kwiakah First Nation Asserts Our Inherent Responsibilities to Our Territory with the Development of the M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area

May 24, 2024 | Campbell River, BC

After almost a century of witnessing the impacts of industrial logging on their land, the Kwiakah First Nation has signed a tripartite agreement with the Province of BC and Interfor to create the new M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area (SFMA). Broader agreements include the transformation of 7,866 hectares of Tree Farm License 45 and the purchase of six private-land parcels totalling approximately 230 hectares, effectively doubling the current level of protection in Kwiakah territory while creating stewardship jobs.  This is a monumental shift for conservation in BC and an important first step towards the Nation's vision of rebuilding knowledge systems that protect and restore forests to old-growth characteristics.

“We as Kwiakah people have a vision of the future — where nən (grizzly bears) and their cubs roam through the mossy, misty forests of our territory, finding a bounty of berries, roots, and fish to eat, and where Kwiakah youth only know their forests as protected and abundant,” says Chief Steven Dick of the Kwiakah First Nation. “By creating the M̓ac̓inuxʷ Special Forest Management Area, we are asserting our inherent responsibilities and creating an Indigenous-led conservation economy that will steward and heal our territory while allowing our people to thrive.” 

Chief Steven adds: “We hope that, as this work takes hold, it can also empower other Indigenous communities around the world with innovative and self-determined conservation models to counter-balance extractive industrial systems, protect nature and provide a bold solution to climate change.” 

In conjunction with Kwiakah’s newly repurposed Research Center of Excellence, the new M̓ac̓inuxʷ SFMA establishes the basis for a Kwiakah regenerative ecosystem research program, and it will jumpstart an Indigenous-led conservation-focused economy for the Nation, transform land-use management and develop innovative forms of regenerative forestry. Ultimately, the new SFMA will create additional jobs and a stewardship economy that prioritizes the well-being of both ecosystems and communities. 

Kwiakah will also continue to work with the Province to develop new legislative tools and economic instruments, including carbon revenue, to capture the value of a “living tree tenure,” which generates revenue from ecosystem services. Central to this work, the Nation is finalizing government-to-government agreements with the Province of British Columbia, which set out a framework for collaborative governance and management activities in the M̓ac̓inuxʷ SFMA. 

“The rainforests on the central coast of our province have been a focus of conservation efforts for many years,” said Bruce Ralston, Minister of Forests. “This partnership with Kwiakah represents a continuation of our joint work to ensure the Great Bear Rainforest will continue to provide sustainable jobs and healthy forests for our children and grandchildren.”

A number of partners have come together to support the Kwiakah First Nation to initiate an Indigenous-led, conservation-focused economy. The Kwiakah First Nation is deeply appreciative of the collaborative innovation demonstrated by the Province of BC, Interfor, Nature United, BC Parks Foundation Private Land Fund, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Rainforest Solutions Project and Makeway Charitable Society all of whom were essential to the success of this initiative.

ABOUT KWIAKAH FIRST NATION

The Kwiakah Nation is a small and resilient First Nation, led by Chief Steven Dick. Kwiakah core territory extends across approximately 86,000 hectares (215,000 acres) of land in the southernmost Great Bear Rainforest on the northeast end of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, which includes Phillips and Frederick Arm. This biologically and culturally abundant area is home to at least three historical village sites, numerous tributaries, all five species of Pacific salmon, Roosevelt elk, grizzly and black bear. It also currently contains the Phillips Estuary/ᕈNacinuxᵂ Conservancy and the Pałəmin/Estero Basin Conservancy, which protect 4,439 hectares of rich marine, estuary, lake, and river ecosystems.

MEDIA CONTACT

Frank Voelker
Band Manager, Kwiakah First Nation
(250) 203-5116
frankvoelker@kwiakah.com