Stop Spraying and Clear-Cutting Nova Scotia (SSCCNS) Rallies in Solidarity with SchoolStrike4ClimateHfx
Stop Spraying and Clear-Cutting Nova Scotia (SSCCNS) is a Facebook group dedicated to ecological forestry reform in Nova Scotia. The group has over 2,600 members and can be found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/StopSprayingNS
Halifax/K’jipuktuk- Members of Stop Spraying and Clear-Cutting Nova Scotia (SSCCNS) will be attending the student-led Climate Strike on Friday, September 25, 2020. Protestors will meet at 12:00 PM at Halifax City Hall/Grand Parade. SSCCNS would like to applaud the youth from School Strike 4 Climate Halifax and Fridays for Future in their campaign for racial and climate justice. Furthermore, we endorse the theme of the rally – listening to science.
On this day of global climate action, SSCCNS would like to highlight the vital role that healthy forests play in fighting climate change. Science shows that forests stabilize our climate by absorbing and storing carbon, which prevents that carbon from further warming our atmosphere. This is a significant consideration in Nova Scotia, where forests cover 75% of our province.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports, “There is more carbon in forest ecosystems – in the living and dead biomass of trees and in soils – than there is currently in the atmosphere, and in fact more than in all known oil and coal reserves combined.” Each year, forests worldwide absorb approximately 2.6 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. “Increasing and maintaining forests is therefore an essential solution to climate change,” the IUCN declares.
Healthy forests sink carbon but improper forest management acts as a source of greenhouse gas emissions. When trees are felled or burned, the carbon dioxide they’ve been storing escapes into the air, further warming our planet. “Unfortunately, Nova Scotia’s High-Production Forestry Plan ignores the dual crises of climate change and biodiversity loss,” says speaker Sydnee Lynn McKay.
The High-Production Forestry Plan will decimate natural carbon sequestration in Nova Scotia by clearcutting 330,000 hectares (800,000 acres) of Crown Land. These razed properties will then be sprayed with the herbicide glyphosate (which poisons the natural regrowth of our forests) and turned into monoculture spruce plantations. Monocultures are more at risk from invasive species, disease, and the effects of a warming planet.
In the era of rapid climate change, our province must retire its outdated forestry model. Nova Scotia cannot have an environmentally sound climate plan without adopting ecological forestry.
For more information please contact:
Sydnee Lynn McKay (canadianmt@eastlink.ca) or
Addie Campaigne (cntrygranny@gmail.com)
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Related Resources:
High-Production Forestry Plan Phase 1 Discussion Paper from the NS Department of Lands and Forestry
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, “Primary forests: a priority nature-based solution”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature, “Forests and climate change”
Forests of the Future: Climate Change Resiliency of Tree Species in the Fundy Biosphere Reserve Region
http://www.fundy-biosphere.ca/images/projects-initiatives/FBR_Climate_Change_Resiliency_Report_v12.pdf
Stop Spraying and Clear-Cutting Nova Scotia Facebook group
