The area known as Clayoquot Sound includes all the waterways of the large inlet that stretch from the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve about 60 kilometres northward to Hot Springs Cove, as well as all of their islands and all of the lands that drain into these waterways. Most of this region is wilderness.

Much of Clayoquot’s land area is “coastal temperate rainforest.” This is one of the rarest forest types on our planet, and Clayoquot Sound is the second-largest expanse of it on earth. The coastal temperate rainforest is just one of the many ecosystems here: others include alpine areas, coastal bog, shorelines, and many different marine environments. Clayoquot Sound is home to abundant wildlife, including bears, wolves, eagles and whales, as well as to a human population of about 3,000, spread out mainly in the communities of Esowista, Tofino, Opitsaht, Ahousaht and Hot Springs Cove.

Mainly as a result of the first protests against logging of the old-growth rainforest, which took place during the 1980s, increasing attention came to be focused on Clayoquot Sound and its unique ecosystems. The Clayoquot Biosphere Project was formed in 1991, with the intention of having Clayoquot Sound declared a World Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The aim of a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve is not to stop all development and preserve everything in its wild state. Rather, Biosphere Reserve designation is meant to acknowledge a unique wilderness environment, while at the same time encouraging both conservation and sustainable development within it. As an international organization, UNESCO has no right to make any laws or rulings about the land use; it is up to local, provincial and federal governments to do that. However, designation as a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve does draw attention to the area, as well as attract more funding, so that the aims of conservation and sustainable development are more likely to be achieved.

Clayoquot Sound was declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990, and the Canadian federal government contributed $12 million to an endowment fund to support research, education and training aimed at conservation and sustainable development. There are 507 UNESCO World Biospheres in 102 countries worldwide.

It is important to emphasize that a “Reserve” is not a “Preserve.” While about one-third of Clayoquot Sound is preserved as park, traditional and controversial industries such as industrial logging of old-growth rainforest and fish-farming are still taking place in other parts of the Sound.

For more information, visit: Clayoquot Biosphere Trust This article was written by Jacqueline Windh.