Seeking a plan for British Columbia’s share of the ocean

With a target date of Oceans Day, June 8th a large collection of environmental groups have challenged the Federal Government to develop a marine use and conservation plan for the Pacific Ocean off of British Columbia.

Suggesting that the current management strategy is inefficient and leads to environmental degradation, they are calling on the Federal Government to become more proactive in protecting the marine environment.

And just in case the Federal Government doesn’t quite get the message, they groups have just launched a new website called pncimawatch, designed to track and report on governments’ progress.

Thursday’s Daily News featured their hopes and demands as part of a front page story on the issue.

CLOCK IS TICKING SAY GROUPS WAITING FOR AN OCEAN PLAN

By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, February 14, 2008

Pages one and two

Now that the provincial government has completed land-use planning for the North and Central Coasts, environmental organizations are calling on the federal government to get going on the marine component.

Yesterday, environmental organizations - including the David Suzuki Foundation, the Living Oceans Society, and the Sierra Club of British Columbia - said they want the federal government to commit to establishing a comprehensive marine-use and conservation-planning process for the Pacific North Coast Integrated Management Area (PNCIMA), on Canada's West Coast.

They have set a target date of June 8 - Oceans Day 2008 - for government to demonstrate a commitment to improving oceans management or face increasing pressure from conservation groups, representing tens of thousands of Canadians, who want to stop any degradation of the marine environments.

PNCIMA includes waters of the Central Coast, North Coast, and Haida Gwaii that encompasses approximately 88,000 square kilometers. It includes areas that contain threatened species such as the blue whale, basking shark and northern abalone, as well as natural wonders such as cold water corals, kelp forests and sponge reefs.

Current management is inefficient, too narrowly focused, and contributes to unnecessary environmental degradation, say the groups.

“Currently, salmon stocks are declining, critical habitat is being destroyed, and industrial activities such as shipping are on the increase,” said Bill Wareham, senior conservation specialist with the David Suzuki Foundation. “A comprehensive marine-planning process would enable the people who work and live on the coast to build a vision for sustainable economic development and conservation of the marine environment.”

The conservation groups involved in this initiative delivered digital clocks set to count down the days to June 8, 2008, World Oceans Day, along with a series of steps they expect government to take, including the establishment of a federal/provincial and First nations protocol for marine-use planning; a structure that encourages the participation of coastal residents, a multidisciplinary team to conduct effective research and analysis on critical marine issues; and a marine-planning secretariat to operate the planning process.

Over the next few months, we remain committed to working with government to find a way to launch an effective marine-planning process,” said Jennifer Lash, executive director of the Living Oceans Society.

“However, if government fails to follow the path to success that we have identified, we will take action to ensure that Canadians are made aware of the threats to this spectacular region and the failure of government to implement Canada’s Ocean Strategy and live up to its international commitments.”

The groups also launched http://www.pncimawatch.ca/, a new website designed to track and report on governments’ progress toward establishing the marine-planning process in the PNCIMA region.

The North and Central Coast Land Use planning process for land based activities resulted in one-third of the region being set aside in conservancies (protected areas) as well as the establishment of a $120-million fund for First Nations to build economic opportunities and conduct research in the Great Bear Rainforest.