WaldAktion British Columbia 2:

McCrory meets Germany`s Environment Minister in Berlin

British Columbia (BC), a province on the West Coast of Canada,
has an environmental crisis that needs global attention.

British Columbia (BC), a province on the West Coast of Canada, has an environmental crisis that needs global attention. Last week the German Green Party celebrated its 25th anniversary in Berlin. Among those attending the gala event were two Canadian Green Party members from BC, Colleen McCrory and Karen Wonders. They carried a protest poster stating "We have no voice!" with photos of a grizzly bear family and an 800-year-old cedar tree.

McCrory, who is Deputy Leader of the BC Green Party, was especially pleased to meet Juergen Trittin, a founding member of the German Green Party and Germany`s Environment Minister. She told him "In the last election, Green Party leaders in BC won 13% of the total vote, but they have no voice in the Legislature." Her question to Minister Trittin was: "How can the successful German Green Party provide a role model for the Greens in BC? "

"Because environmentalists and the Green Party have no political representation in BC," McCrory explained, "the native wildlife and their habitats are at greater risk." She emphasized "endangered species such as grizzlies, mountain caribou, wild salmon and spotted owls depend on ancient forests and undisturbed watersheds to survive."
But according to McCrory, "instead of protecting the magnificent biodiversity of BC, the current pro-industry government is engaged in massive habitat destruction."
"Even the land claims of the aboriginal people of BC," she added, "are being denied in favour of resource exploitation and industrial profit."

Minister Trittin told McCrory that he was aware of the environmental issues in BC, including deforestation. As one of the leading supporters of the 1992 United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Minister recently called for "a global network of protected areas," saying "we must act, and act now."
According to the CBD, governments must adopt the principle of sustainability but McCrory pointed out, "Canada is allowing timber corporations to clear-cut old growth forests. In BC, ancient red cedar is disappearing, and with it the cultural and ecological heritage of the aboriginal people."

Minister Trittin assured McCrory that "Germany is committed to reducing the consumption of all wood products, and to boycotting old growth wood products." McCrory expressed her appreciation for this and also for the recent decision by the European Union to ban the importation of grizzly bear trophies from BC.

McCrory also spoke of the many Germans who come to BC every year to experience the vast areas of wilderness, "Yet BC is not promoting sustainable tourism and European tourist organizations representing seven million Germans have complained about this."
Minister Trittin confirmed "biological degradation is an urgent global problem which requires international environmental governance," and he gave his warm support to the Greens from BC.

Links:

• Jürgen Trittin
  
• Renewables 2004
  
• Convention on Biological Biodiversity
  
• EU ban on grizzly trophies
  
• Tourism Practices in BC under International scrutiny
  

Colleen McCrory speaks with Minister Jürgen Trittin.
(Foto: Stephan Röhl)

From left to right: Colleen McCrory, Jürgen Trittin, Karen Wonders.
(Foto: Stephan Röhl)

Eva Quistorp, one of the founding members of the party "Die Grünen".
(Foto: Karen Wonders)

25th anniversary of the founding of "Die Grünen", Kalkscheune, Berlin
(Foto: Stephan Röhl)