Dec. 12, 2007, the Haida Nation signed an historic agreement with the government of British Columbia to comanage 52 percent of Haida Gwaii. The significance of this Strategic Land Use Agreement is that it acknowledges the Haida Nation as a governing body, not just an interest group, and it emphasizes sustainable economic development for the community. The agreement calls for the designation of “Haida Natural, Cultural and Spiritual Areas” to represent traditional land-use principles and place them on an equal footing with conventional governmental designations, such as protected areas and areas where forestry is permitted. Haida President Guujaaw told the Queen Charlotte Islands Observer, “This agreement is the first land use plan on the islands, aside from ‘divide the loot’ kind of approach that we have seen over the last century, and its intent is to plan ahead for the next decades and on. The course we were on would have seen all of the marketable timber simply cut, and if there were any success or value in the following crops, they would have been cut also. This so far has been good for a few industrialists, but was short-sighted and not good for the land or the people who live here.” The Strategic Land Use Agreement is best seen as the beginning of a new relationship between the Haida Nation, the provincial government and industry. Many details—such as how exactly the two governments will jointly manage Haida Gwaii and to what extent the timber industry will cooperate with the agreement’s “ecosystem-based management objectives”—remain to be worked out. - See more at: sacredland.org/haida-gwaii/#sthash.YnOTfGXT.dpuf
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 00:09:12 +0000
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