Gibsons council will consider soon whether to back an initiative to have Howe Sound declared a UNESCO biosphere reserve.
The initiative is being led by the Future of Howe Sound Society (FHSS), and executive director Ruth Simons appeared at the Dec. 6 committee of the whole meeting to provide some background and encourage council to adopt a motion supporting the biosphere designation.
Coun. Jeremy Valeriote, who was at a recent Howe Sound Community Forum meeting where the plan was discussed, told his fellow councillors becoming a UNESCO biosphere would be a better move than similar ideas they’ve heard.
“It struck me as a much better fit than a [UNESCO] World Heritage Site [designation] for Gibsons, which has come to us in the past year or so, and the whole national park idea.”
B.C. currently has two areas with the biosphere designation: Clayoquot Sound and Mt. Arrowsmith on Vancouver Island. There are 16 others across Canada.
Simons said there are a number of benefits to becoming a biosphere, including attracting education and research programs as well as international recognition, with no loss of local control over decision making.
“It doesn’t create any new level of government, no new level of bureaucracy. Biosphere reserves do not have any laws or governance, they don’t impose anything on the local governments or the regional governments.”
Simons also touted a biosphere reserve as a catalyst for the type of overarching land and water use management plan that groups like the Howe Sound Community Forum have been trying to create.
“It would really be a place for all these different stakeholders and First Nations to collaborate together. It fosters communication between different organizations. And, today more than ever, you’re co-creating this in tandem alongside First Nations,” she said.
Howe Sound already meets the criteria for acceptance by the UNESCO Canadian Commission of Man and the Biosphere.
“We have forums for discussion that bring different parties together. We have a lot of research and education already. And the elements that are very important in a biosphere is you need to have existing core protected areas, which we do,” Simons said.
FHSS is exploring four possible boundaries for a biosphere region, ranging from the Outer Howe Sound Biosphere, which would include the area near the mouth of the sound and the major islands, to one that would extend into Burrard Inlet. The most likely area would be one that follows the Howe Sound watershed.
Bowen Island, Village of Lions Bay, the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, and the Islands Trust have already passed motions supporting a Howe Sound Biosphere Reserve. FHSS is also expected to ask the Sunshine Coast Regional District for support.
Rowe promised he would make sure a draft motion of support makes it onto a future Gibsons council agenda for consideration. He also acknowledged Simons’ presentation addressed the possible concerns councillors might have.
“For local governments the issues will always be sovereignty, so to speak, over your own area and obviously any cost implications,” he said.
