UNESCO World Heritage Site Protection for Burns Bog: Political History

Nov. 29, 2009 - PRLog -- In 2004, every level of government contributed $73 million dollars of tax payers money to purchase the lands of Burns Bog. Purchasing those lands did not save Burns Bog for protection. Instead, Burns Bog is not protected by the Conservation Covenant as long as the BC Liberal Provincial government holds the Covenant in one hand and continues to act on the South Fraser Perimeter Road with the other hand.

In 2004, the UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination and designation suggestion for Burns Bog was first acted upon by John Hague, then Director at Large for Burns Bog Conservation Society and a Green Party of Canada candidate for Newton North Delta and Dana L. Miller Green Party of Canada candidate for Delta-Richmond East and Eliza Olson, President of the BBCS.

In 2004, John, Eliza and Dana compiled a box of information with videos and books to forward to a Member of Parliament with the hope the box of information would be received, seriously considered and acted upon to nominate and designate Burns Bog as an UNESCO site.

In 2007, when Dana became the Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Delta-Richmond East she continued to advance UNESCO designation awareness through letters to the editors of local and provincial newspapers. Unfortunately, some political party members and supporters of the Conservative, NDP, Green and BC Liberals attempted to destroy the possibility of advancing the plausible,practical solution of UNESCO designation for the protection of Burns Bog. They put party politics before the protection of Burns Bog.

In 2007 , Dana researched and wrote a policy on UNESCO nomination and designation for Burns Bog.

In 2008, with the Newton-North Delta riding association, Dana co-presented her policy to the Liberal Party of Canada Policy Convention. UNESCO nomination and designation for Burns Bog was succesfully included in the 2008 Liberal Party of Canada platform. This means that had Stephane Dion become the Prime Minister of Canada, he would have signed the nomination papers and sent the appropriate documents to UNESCO for their consideration to have Burns Bog designated a World Heritage Site.

Special note: any person, politician, political party member or society could have thought of Dana's solution to research, write, present and lobby for UNESCO nomination and designation to protect Burns Bog, yet, this was not what occurred.

Conservative opponents included Greg Hoover, former executive on the riding association of the Conservative Party of Canada in Delta-Richmond East. Greg Hoover stated that he thought Dana L. Miller's suggestion "naive" to nominate and designate Burns Bog an UNESCO site. UNESCO designation would create a buffer zone around Burns Bog. A buffer zone would protect Burns Bog from the destruction of roads like the South Fraser Perimeter Road.

The past BC NDP government including, their NDP MLA Ian Waddell, wanted to put the steel and concrete Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) on top of Burns Bog. During the 2008 election, at an all candidate's debate, the NDP candidate Ms. Silvia Barna proved to be ignorant of her political party's historic destructive proposals towards Burns Bog. Many candidates run in ridings wherein they don't understand the history or issues of the riding.

The 2008 Green Party candidate, Michael Wolfe, directly endorsed the Conservative candidate, Alice Wong. Michael Wolfe is an activist with the Save the Garden City Lands organization. The organization's website endorses Delta-Richmond East Conservative candidate John Cummins, who for 14 years failed to protect Burns Bog, of which 90% of the lands are in the Delta-Richmond East riding.

The 2008 Green Party candidate, Matthew Laine, indirectly supported the advancement of John Cummins through flattering comments at all candidate meetings. Even a reporter in Richmond commented on the cozy conversations between Matthew Laine and John Cummins. The destruction of our local environment continues, including the destruction of Burns Bog by the South Fraser Perimeter Road. When Green Party candidates endorsed and indirectly supported Conservative candidates, Green candidates set a historical record of contributing to the destruction of our environment.

Dana, a past Director at Large with the Burns Bog Conservation Society, continues to advocate for Burns Bog UNESCO designation across party lines and with politicians at every level of government: Municipally, Provincially and Federally. She has sent the Prime Minister of Canada, Cabinet Ministers, Leaders of federal parties and Members of Parliament lettes of request to nominate and designate Burns Bog an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

In June 2009, Liberal Party of Canada MP Joyce Murray stood in the House of Commons and requested Parliamentarians to take UNESCO protection seriously for Burns Bog. In October 2009, Sukh Dhaliwal, MP for Newton North Delta, stood in the House of Commons and announced the petition for UNESCO designation for Burns Bog.

In October 2009, Sustainable Earth, a company created by Dana L. Miller and A. Traviss Corry, notified media of their campaign to protect Burns Bog with UNESCO nomination and designation. Dana wrote a letter to Delta Mayor and Council requesting they sign a letter to support UNESCO for Burns Bog protection and forward it to the Prime Minister of Canada. Unfortunately local media requested a quote from Eliza Olson, President of the BBCS for the past ten years, and she misinformed the public through the media that UNESCO protection for Burns Bog could not be achieved in under ten years.

Historically, the BBCS suggested RAMSAR designation for Burns Bog, and unfortunately RAMSAR will not protect Burns Bog. Whereas, UNESCO will protect Burns Bog with a buffer zone around the lands to prevent development and prevent impact upon Burns Bog hydrology. The BBCS has existed for twenty years without putting forth a practical conservation plan toward the full protection of Burns Bog. The BBCS has failed in their duty to advance a campaign toward full protection or to embrace a protection campaign created by others, such as Sustainable Earth's campaign, "UNESCO World Heritage Site Status for Burns Bog."

Ecological awareness increases and the 2009 UN Summit is upon us to call out to leaders for protecting the largest domed peatland in the Western Hemisphere of North America, Burns Bog.

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Sustainable Earth is a non-governmental organization, that guides efforts towards sustainability through policy and communications strategy. Our policy follows the principle of ‘Social Sculpture’; methods of using art and media to transform society and the environment.

“...a system that transforms all the social organisms into a work of art... in which the principle of production and consumption takes on a form of quality.”
Joseph Beuys (artist, politician)