B.C.’s forest loss can be seen from space

B.C. has lost so much tree cover over the past 20-plus years that you can see it from space.

It has lost more tree canopy since 2000 than any other province, driven largely by wildfires and unsustainable forestry practices.

According to data from Global Forest Watch, an online forest monitoring platform, B.C. lost 86,000 square kilometres of tree cover from 2001 to 2021, roughly 2 1/2 times the size of Vancouver Island. About 30 per cent of that loss was due to wildfires.