Members of the Howe Sound Biosphere Region Initiative Society are hoping Howe Sound becomes just the third biosphere reserve in the province.
The Sunshine Coast Regional District voted unanimously in favour of supporting the idea of making Howe Sound a UNESCO biosphere reserve, in the form of a letter.
The group has been requesting letters of endorsement from local government and local industry, but the endorsement is not legally or financially binding.
It’s taken two years to complete a 230-page report and Ruth Simons of the society expects that, if approved, this designation would be implemented by 2021, at the earliest.
There are about seven hundred biosphere reserves globally, 18 are in Canada and there are two places in BC that have this UNESCO biosphere reserve designation, Clayoquot Sound and Mount Arrowsmith.
