There are growing calls to designate Burns Bog – considered the lungs of the Lower Mainland – as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Liberal MP Joyce Murray (Vancouver-Quadra), who was the provincial government minister who helped secure the deal protecting the bog in 2004, is now calling on Ottawa to propose it as a World Heritage Site.

"Millions of residents of this urban region benefit from its positive impact on our air and water and from having nature on their doorstep," she said.

Burns Bog Conservation Society president Eliza Olson, who has long pressed for international recognition, is also behind the proposal.

"It would bring better security for the bog," she said. "This would certainly give pause and prevent further degradation."

Olson said construction of the South Fraser Perimeter Road is the biggest threat to the bog today.

Peat bogs are among the planet's most important carbon sinks, she added, noting any further damage to Burns Bog could contribute to climate change.

jnagel@surreyleader.com
http://www.bclocalnews.com/surrey_area/surreyleader/lifestyles/51519042…