'Clearcut' Conflict: Clayoquot Sound Campaign and the Moral Imagination

Abstract

In 1993, Clayoquot Sound in British Columbia became the focus of a global environmental campaign following the decision to clearcut two-thirds of the old-growth rainforest. The campaign was multifaceted including protests, blockades, boycotts and negotiations, and involved thousands of people around the world. Over the course of six years, environmentalists engaged in the conflict with government, First Nations, and industry and were able to alter logging practices in Clayoquot Sound to protect its ecological integrity. This thesis explores the campaign to save Clayoquot Sound through the lens of the moral imagination as described by John Paul Lederach. Lederach proposes that transforming conflict away from being destructive requires the moral imagination. He identifies four disciplines that are essential to the moral imagination: paradoxical curiosity, relationship focus, creativity and willingness to take risk. Analysis of turning points in the Clayoquot campaign demonstrates how the moral imagination transformed the conflict and led to the conservation of the rainforests. Furthermore, the Clayoquot campaign and the subsequent work of one of its organizers suggest that efforts to generate environmental social change can be realized when guided by the moral imagination.