Old Growth Nature Fund
Overview
The Old Growth Nature Fund supports the protection of priority old growth forests in British Columbia. This funding is part of Canada’s financial contribution to support the Tripartite Framework Agreement on Nature Conservation. It will support the Government of British Columbia to work in partnership with First Nations to permanently protect and conserve 4,000 to 13,000 km2 of old growth forests in the province.
Protecting old growth in British Columbia
Old growth forests in British Columbia are among the most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems in Canada and constitute some of the largest natural carbon sinks in the world. Old growth forest has deep-rooted cultural significance to Indigenous communities and is important to all British Columbians.
The areas of interest for Old Growth Nature Fund include the following biogeoclimatic zones:
- Coastal Douglas-fir zone
- Coastal Western Hemlock zone
- Interior Cedar-hemlock zone
These areas contain critical habitat for species at risk and migratory birds and also include important carbon stores. Protecting these old growth forests is a shared priority for Canada, British Columbia and First Nations.
Long description
A distribution map of select biogeoclimatic zones of British Columbia (BC), which are the areas of interest for Old Growth Nature Fund. The Interior Cedar-hemlock zone is indicated in yellow and extends from Prince George, down the Selkirk Mountains to the United States border, and also incudes two other smaller areas to the north-west of the province. The Coastal Western Hemlock zone is indicated in green and occurs at low to mid-elevations along much of the coast of BC, west of the Cascade Range and Coast Mountains. The Coastal Douglas-fir zone is indicated in orange and covers a small area of BC’s south coast surrounding the Salish Sea, including low elevation areas on the Gulf Islands and along the southeastern coast of Vancouver Island to the west and the Sunshine Coast to Metro Vancouver to the east.
Funding
In 2022, the Government of Canada provided $50 million in federal funding to create the Old Growth Nature Fund to help permanently protect old growth forests in British Columbia. This funding will be matched by the provincial government and additional funding may be acquired from third-party organizations.
Funds are intended to support collaborative dialogues between the Government of British Columbia and First Nations on old growth forest management, and subsequent protection of old growth forests on public and private lands.