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FLOW '99 Conference |
Purpose and objectives of the Conference:
The Conference intends to examine the current crisis in the woods and to find solutions and alternatives for a brighter future. FLOW '99 will be held in New Denver, B.C. The aim is to bring together concerned individuals and a wide range of experts from the Slocan Valley, around the province and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest in the common cause of protecting drinking water and building ecologically sound, forest-based economies. The conference will explore three related areas:
- How to safeguard the health of our water (both domestic and wild);
- The economic impacts on our communities of poor logging practices compared to sustainable ones;
- The opportunities to ensure long-term jobs for forest workers and others who depend upon the forest.
Conference framework:
The conference weekend will begin with Friday morning with workshops taking place throughout the day and an evening of topic related entertainment and networking. Saturday morning will feature an opening ceremony and a keynote speaker to set the tone and bring us together. Saturday, the main day of the conference, will include a series of presentations, workshops and panel discussions. Sunday will be a continuation of discussions and workshops with a wrap-up session mid-afternoon. FLOW '99 will include many elements of celebration and inspiration. We want to remember the blessings we have here in this valley and throughout the province, and we want to renew our energy for action. We are inviting members of the richly talented local arts community to help with these celebration events. The conference includes a arts/crafts/trade fair showing the diversity of locally made goods, as well as children's events. Saturday night will feature a community dance and other entertainment.
History behind the Conference:
The Slocan Valley in the West Kootenay region of south-eastern B.C. is part of a rare inland temperate rainforest.
A recently conducted Angus Reid poll found that 97% of valley residents want forest planning to protect water. Logging plans, however, which include road building and cutblocks near people's homes, up to stream banks and in the headwaters in the valley, continue to jeopardize water supplies. This despite the fact that a professional hydrologist and other experts have concluded that these logging plans are very likely to cause serious damage to water given the steep slopes and unstable soils in the valley. The Forest Practices Code has provided little, if any, protection, and the role of the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks in watershed protection has been steadily weakened by reductions in budgets and staff and by changes in the ministry's mandate.
Meanwhile, over the past 20 years, as ecological values have been steadily eroding, the valley's economy has also been deteriorating. Sawmill jobs have been lost to mechanization, while mill volumes have increased. In the forest, loggers are being sent home as big machinery moves in to displace workers. Some believe there is less than 5 years worth of wood left to cut. This is a crisis point for the Slocan Valley, and a situation that is being duplicated in many areas of the province.
The Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance (SVWA) hosted the first two FLOW Conferences in 1984 and 1989. This year a steering committee, with individuals from the watershed alliance, as well as from the logging community, are joining forces to organize FLOW '99.
The SVWA is an alliance of 11 local watershed groups as well as individual water users. The alliance has 18 years of experience working for the protection of water quality, quantity, and timing of flow in the consumptive use watersheds of the Slocan Valley. The SVWA believes that protection of water must be the top priority when planning and managing activities in watersheds used for drinking water; that effective risk/hazard analysis and the precautionary principle must be used in assessing the impact of proposed development in these watersheds; that ecologically responsible standards must be applied to all human activities; and that the water users must be allowed to take part in decisions affecting their watersheds.
The SVWA has participated in many government and industry consultation processes, and has worked closely with the valley-based Silva Forest Foundation as it has developed its ecosystem-based approach to land-use and forest planning. The alliance believes that Silva's plan for the Slocan Valley offers real solutions to the challenge of protecting the full range of forest values while maintaining and encouraging a vibrant forest-based economy. The SVWA continues its attempts to convince government decision-makers to adopt the Silva Plan for this valley and to use it as a model for other communities.
The Slocan Valley is still quite intact - the clearcuts are only just beginning to creep over the ridges; much of the water still runs pure. This valley has been extensively studied and already has quite a diversified economy in place. It is the hope of SVWA, FLOW'99 and other organizations and concerned citizens that a sustainable model could be implemented in this area and serve as an example for other communities around the province.