In a victory for ecosystems on northeast Vancouver Island, herbicide spraying was almost completely eliminated last year in Ma’amtagila and Kwakwaka’wakw Nations territory. This comes after Indigenous chiefs, elders, the public, and environmental groups spoke out against the practice of spraying glyphosate on previously-logged forestlands.
TimberWest planned to spray almost 10,000 hectares of replanted forest with glyphosate and triclopyr, both of which are toxic plant and fungi killers. But when the Wilderness Committee and the Awi’nakola Foundation obtained the government’s annual report, they found the spray was reduced to only about three per cent of the planned area, or less than 260 hectares.
In 2023, Kwakwaka’wakw leaders and food and medicine harvesters raised the alarm about toxic herbicides on their lands. They called on the Province to update its Integrated Pest Management Act and give nations a veto over planned spraying.
Studies of glyphosate – the main ingredient in Roundup weed killer – show it harms species at risk, especially bees and amphibians. It’s likely to cause cancer and may also trigger mutagenic and genotoxic effects. The logging industry sprays it on unwanted trees and plants to speed the growth of tree farms. Wildlife, traditional foods, medicines, and ecosystems rely on these “unprofitable” native species that are killed by toxic herbicides.
It remains to be seen whether this victory is permanent or a one-off. “We spent a significant amount of time and money investigating and opposing glyphosate spray plans. It worked to halt most of the spray last summer, but what about the coming years?” asked Gigame Pudlidagame, Chief Brian Wadhams of Ma’amtagila First Nation.
“The government must meet with us to address the lack of consent from First Nations for operations impacting our territory. Industrial project decision making, such as glyphosate spraying, must align with UNDRIP including the need to achieve free, prior and informed consent. This means that a ‘no’ from a First Nation is respected.”
Glyphosate destroys the fungi, plants and bacteria that are crucial for healthy forests, according to Charlotte Dawe, Conservation and Policy Campaigner for the Wilderness Committee. “Removing these species from an ecosystem has devastating and cascading effects that impacts wildlife and humans far and wide.”
“The sale and use of glyphosate needs to be banned nation wide,” said Mark Worthing, Programs Director at Awin’akola Foundation. “The fact that logging companies knowingly poison the land where trappers, gatherers, hunters and the general public spend time is yet another shocking example of why the forestry sector has lost its social license and desperately needs a paradigm shift.”
Zoe Blunt is a veteran water protector and the new Watershed Sentinel editor.
