RBC pledges $500,000 to complete Tides Canada Foundation's
Great Bear Rainforest campaign
VANCOUVER, February 25, 2008 — Royal Bank of
Canada (RBC) today announced it has pledged half a million
dollars to ensure a healthy future for British Columbia's
North and Central Coast called The Great Bear Rainforest.
The donation will fund conservation management and sustainable
economic development in First Nations communities in the region.
This commitment is part of the RBC Blue Water Project, and
completes Tides Canada Foundation's $4 million Canadian fundraising
campaign for one of the largest and most ambitious conservation
projects in North America. The contribution also completes
the $60 million financing package pledged by Canadian and
international private philanthropic organizations for the
Great Bear Rainforest.
Covering 6.4 million hectares, (21 million acres) the Great
Bear Rainforest represents 25 per cent of the earth's remaining
ancient coastal temperate rainforest. A vast ecosystem with
over 100 unlogged pristine watersheds, it sustains tremendous
biodiversity including rare white Spirit Bears, grizzly bears,
and rare and unusual plants. It is one of the planet's great
environmental treasures and a vital cultural and economic
resource for British Columbia's First Nations and coastal
communities.
"RBC has a long history of commitment to First Nations
communities and to the environment, and we are thrilled to
seal the deal on this campaign," said Graham MacLachlan,
Regional President, RBC, British Columbia. "With its
100 watersheds sustaining 20 per cent of the world's wild
salmon population, the Great Bear conservation initiative
was a natural fit under our Blue Water Project. The bonus
here is that this innovative model for conservation will also
create sustainable economic development in First Nations communities."
Until recently, the Great Bear Rainforest was a threatened
wilderness. But on February 8, 2006, after over a decade of
hard work, an unprecedented alliance among environmental groups,
First Nations, logging companies and governments marked a
landmark event in modern conservation. The Province of British
Columbia announced long-awaited land use agreements that protect
at least 5 million acres of the rainforest from logging and
places more than 18 million acres under strict land management
guidelines. Donations to Tides Canada's Great Bear Rainforest
Campaign will support the implementation of these land use
agreements.
"Protecting the environment while enabling communities
to prosper requires the commitment and investment of visionary
partners like RBC. We celebrate RBC's support for this pioneering
model for long-term sustainability and the successful completion
of our campaign," said Ross McMillan, President of Tides
Canada Foundation, and one of the principal architects of
the $120 million conservation financing program that helped
protect the Great Bear Rainforest.
U.S. and Canadian funders, including The William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation,
the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Wilburforce Foundation,
Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Tides Canada Foundation and The
Nature Conservancy contributed more than CAD$60 million. These
funds, combined with CAD$60 million previously committed by
the government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada,
create two public-private funds totaling $120 CAD million
for work in the Great Bear Rainforest.
RBC is one of Canada's largest corporate donors, and contributed
more than $82.8 million to community causes worldwide in 2007,
through donations of more than $47.7 million, and an additional
$35.1 million in sponsorship of community events and national
organizations. The company recently released the RBC Environmental
Blueprint, a formal roadmap outlining the company's environmental
priorities and objectives, and the RBC Blue Water Project,
a 10-year philanthropic program to support projects dedicated
to water conservation, watershed protection, access to clean
drinking water, and other water-related issues in Canada and
around the world. In 2007, RBC was named Canada's top corporate
citizen, and in 2008, was named one of top 100 sustainable
companies in the world.
As Canada's first and only national public foundation focused
on the environment and social justice, Tides Canada works
with forward-looking donors to amplify the impact of their
giving.
Since start-up in December 2001, Tides Canada
has granted more than $45 million to hundreds of charities
and will continue to support the work of conservation organizations
and First Nations as they implement the landmark land use
agreements. For more information about Tides Canada Foundation
and The Great Bear Rainforest Campaign please visit http://tidescanadafoundation.org/greatbear.
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For more information:
RBC
John Groves, 604-668-2651
Jackie Braden, 416-974-2124
Tides Canada
Cristina R. Vélez, 604-647-6611, ext. 250,
cristina@tidescanada.org
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