Nisga'a Nation enacts legislation to enable carbon sequestration projects on
Nisga'a Lands

NEW AIYANSH, BC, July 30 /CNW/ - Yesterday, Wilp Si'ayuukhl Nisga'a, the Legislative House of the Nisga'a Nation, unanimously enacted legislation amending the Nisga'a Forest Act to enable ecosystem restoration and carbon sequestration projects to take place on Nisga'a Lands.

The new legislation grants the Nisga'a Lisims Government Executive the authority to enter into ecosystem restoration and carbon rights agreements with designated contractors. Under such an agreement, the Nisga'a Nation may grant an ecosystem restoration contractor the exclusive right to deal with the carbon credits that will be available in relation to the trees planted on Nisga'a Lands as part of an ecosystem restoration project.

The purpose of the new legislation is twofold. First, and foremost, it will encourage the restoration of the areas of Nisga'a Lands that were devastated by logging that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. Second, it will enable economic benefits to be derived from the carbon that will be stored in the trees that will be planted in those restored areas, by taking advantage of emerging forest carbon sequestration markets.

"To the best of our knowledge, this legislation is the first of its kind in Canada," commented Mitchell Stevens, the President of the Nisga'a Nation. "The ability of the Nisga'a Nation to govern its own land under the Nisga'a Treaty has allowed us to be at the forefront of a new and exciting development. This is something all Nisga'a can be proud of."

The new legislation is available for viewing on the Nisga'a Lisims Government website at: www.nisgaalisims.ca.

For further information: Collier Azak, Director of Lands and Resources, Nisga'a Lisims Government, Tel.: [phone]