Dignity to Forests: Introducing the Notion of Honor Towards Old-Growth Forests in the “War in the Woods”

Edited by Thomas Michael Covert-Pareja

Abstract

The “war in the woods” was the first mainstream environmental movement in British Columbia, Canada, advocating the protection of old-growth forests from unsustainable logging practices prevalent in the province. The movement focused on protecting old-growth forests in Clayoquot Sound, BC, in response to the provincial government’s decision to allow the forestry company Macmillan Bloedel to clear-cut the area. Environmental groups such as the Western Canada Wilderness Committee (WCWC) and the Peace Camp shared visual and educational messages to change moral attitudes towards old-growth forests. The movement culminated in a blockade that garnered national and international media attention, leading to the suspension of logging in the area. Applying Kwame Anthony Appiah’s argument for the crucial role honor can play in moral revolutions to the “war in the woods” highlights how environmental groups took steps towards establishing the preservation of old-growth forests as a source of national honor and introduced to the mainstream the notion that these forests had dignity in attempts to transform moral attitudes in BC. Hence, the “war in the woods” protest provides a framework for appealing to the dignity of non-human beings.