Earth MonthTalks at the Bowen Library

put to music”

Elaine Cameron

Contributor

Bowen Island resident Charles McNeill’s work with the United Nations began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 where the Biodiversity and Climate Change Conventions were established. Since then, his work has focused on fulfilling the mandate of these two conventions

Charles attributes the trajectory of his life – a life that includes international conferences and travels to places as varied as Brasilia and Jakarta – to his preschool visits at his grandparents’ home on Bowen It was on Bowen that he became captivated by the abundance of the natural world in the forests and oceans.

It was here too that, as he got older, he heard his grandfather’s stories of his work in the League of Nations (precursor of the United Nations), and caught a glimpse of possibilities for a better, more peaceful, more equitable world that inspired his own career. Charles’ enthusiasm for nature and Bowen Island is still evident in his conversation.

He talks excitedly about the view from his home on Bowen where, just the other day, he saw 12 sea lions fishing, along with cormorants, goldeneyes, and five young, swooping eagles joined by an adult eagle “It was a dance of nature A drama that could be

Within his position with the United Nations, Charles is enthusiastic about his current work overseeing the Interfaith Rainforest Initiative In the five countries holding 70% of all remaining tropical forests (Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Indonesia, and Democratic Republic of the Congo) this initiative brings together the powerful influence of religious leaders across faiths to work with Indigenous Peoples, governments, and civil society to protect both the forests and their guardians

“Rainforests sustain all life on the planet, and the need to save them is one thing all the religious leaders agree on, ” Charles explains

Charles is passionate about the need to protect biodiversity, whether it is tropical forests in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or natural areas in Canada “We are currently witnessing the greatest species extinction since the end of the dinosaur era and the first one caused by humans About one million species of the estimated eight million on the planet are threatened with extinction,” he says

The climate crisis is equally serious, and he compares the situation to “ a supersonic plane headed straight towards a mountain at 500 miles an hour, and the question is, can we as a species, as a civilization, pull up in time to avoid crashing.”

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2) Translink draft funding agreement(s) to increase transportation on-island.

This is unlikely to be a complete list and I recognize that these reports and agreements will cost thousands of dollars, which should be commissioned by Bowen but at the proponent’s cost A clear accounting of magnitude of these issues and mitigations, their costs, and draft funding agreements with Metro and Translink will be invaluable to ensure that Bowen Island understands the magnitude of the work and costs ahead and is appropriately compensated

Council has a fiduciary responsibility as well as a moral responsibility to the community to have this information in hand before proceeding with second reading.

Sincerely,

- Tim Rhodes