Needed: Better Planning for Protected Areas
Research undertaken by the ECO during the past year into the planning and management of Ontario’s provincial parks and conservation reserves by the Ministry of Natural Resources has revealed several areas of serious concern. Specifically, the ECO has examined whether planning is actually taking place for all of Ontario’s protected areas, whether the public has been involved in the planning process, and whether existing plans are being reviewed in a timely manner.
Contents |
Biodiversity and Natural Heritage
Protected areas are the very foundation of any concerted effort to conserve biodiversity. The loss of biodiversity is a global problem, widely acknowledged as one of the most critical environmental challenges facing the planet. MNR is responsible for two main types of protected areas – provincial parks and conservation reserves – that can help meet this challenge.
Among the most significant threats to biodiversity are the cumulative impacts of the commercial, industrial, recreational and cultural activities of humans. Biodiversity can also be seriously affected by pollution, climate change, and the introduction of alien species (see Invasive Alien Species – A Threat to Biodiversity). Given these serious environmental impacts, the establishment of protected areas is more important than ever.
Protected areas are places meant to maintain and restore ecological and natural heritage values. These places should be havens for wild species, conserving the diversity among and within them. They also should protect both small and large ecological systems, ranging in scale from a rare wetland ecosystem to a broad forested landscape. However, the challenge for protected areas goes well beyond simply drawing lines on a map – sometimes called a “paper park” – which provides little actual protection. These areas require sound planning and ongoing management (see also Environmental Assessment for Forest Management, pages 94-99).
Management plans are meant to translate provincial policies into detailed statements of government intent – the rules to be followed – for each individual protected area. According to MNR, plans for protected areas are intended to provide:
- A definition of the role, significance and classification of a park within the provincial system.
- A statement of policy and zoning for the protection, planning development and management of the resources and attributes of the park.
- Assurance that the planning, management and development of the park is compatible with the protection of the environment and is responsive to the public interest.
- Guidance for the preparation of subsequent plans required to implement park policies and achieve program objectives. Plans must be written for natural resources, client services, site development and operations.
- A rationale and priorities for the funding of capital development and park operations.
- A record of public consultation and input into the planning process.
- A basis for the ongoing monitoring of the development and management of the park.
Provincial Parks
Status of planning and management
As of April 2004, Ontario had 314 provincial parks regulated under the Provincial Parks Act, covering approximately 76,000 km2. There are six general classes of provincial parks: wilder- ness, natural environment, waterway, recreation, historical, and nature reserves. Provincial parks also are classified as to whether they are operating (with permanent staff and facilities) or non-operating. The Ontario Parks branch within MNR administers provincial parks.
The Minister of Natural Resources, under the authority of the Provincial Parks Act, has the discretionary power to determine whether or not to create management plans for provincial parks. However, ministry policy states that a management plan will be developed for every individual park.
Unfortunately, the majority of provincial parks in Ontario do not have approved management plans. Only 125 out of 314 provincial parks (40%) currently have an approved management plan. Ontario’s Provincial Auditor raised similar concerns in his 2002 annual report, noting then that only 117 of 277 provincial parks (42%) had approved management plans in place. At the current rate of approvals, it will take MNR another half-century to complete management plans for the remaining parks – assuming that no new parks are created.
The proportion of non-operating parks lacking management plans is disturbing. Only 39 out of 210 non-operating parks (19%) have approved management plans. These parks tend to be smaller in size than operating parks, with fewer visitors. However, size and visitor usage are not determinants of ecological significance. Management plans are equally important for non-operating provincial parks, especially for establishing ecological monitoring programs. It should be noted that these protected areas generate little, if any, revenue for the province since they do not possess campground facilities. According to MNR, the majority of non-operating parks are visited only once a year or not at all by ministry staff. Further, no funding is allocated for 88 per cent of these protected areas. The ECO cautions MNR that it is not feasible to plan and manage all of their protected areas based on a cost-recovery economic model.
In 2003, the ministry did develop a risk-based assessment strategy for the better planning and management of non-operating provincial parks. However, this strategy notes that without more staff it will take a number of years to visit and assess all non-operating parks, and ministry staff may in fact never visit them all. MNR’s view is that increased staffing levels would allow Ontario Parks to make informed decisions and set priorities, as well as ensure the collection of baseline data for all non-operating parks.
Reviews of existing plans
The Provincial Parks Act does not address the review of existing management plans, but ministry policy requires that it take place every 10 years. However, 90 of the 125 (72%) existing management plans are already 10 years old or more, and MNR has reviewed and updated only nine provincial park management plans in the last decade. The Provincial Auditor noted two years ago that 68 of 117 (58%) management plans were 10 years old or more. Clearly, there is an increasing number of parks with outdated management plans that require review by the ministry and the public.
MNR did dramatically expand the parks system in 1999, based on Ontario’s Living Legacy (OLL). This was a commendable act on the part of the province, creating 61 new provincial parks and increasing the size of 45 others. However, even if these important additions had not occurred, the majority of pre-existing parks would still have lacked management plans – and the plans for the minority that had them would still be outdated.
Public consultation
When Ontario Parks actually does initiate the development of a management plan for a provincial park, the ministry does a commendable job of using the Environmental Registry to notify and consult the general public. MNR posts multiple notices with lengthy comment periods for public consultation for each new management plan. The ECO believes that other divisions within MNR and other ministries should emulate this approach to consulting the public.
Conservation Reserves
Status of planning and management
As of April 2004, Ontario had 234 conservation reserves, regulated under the Public Lands Act and covering approximately 9,000 km2. The vast majority of these sites were created as a result of OLL; an additional 68 areas are yet to be established. In MNR’s view, conservation reserves offer protection for natural heritage areas on public lands, while permitting many traditional uses such as hunting to continue. The Field Services Division within MNR, at the district office level, administers conservation reserves.
The Public Lands Act was not intended or designed to protect natural heritage features such as sensitive habitats or important species, and thus it is not a good public policy mechanism for protecting these values in conservation reserves. MNR has recognized this problem in an internal review. Ministry staff have expressed serious concerns about the existing policy and program direction, stating that it was out of date and that the needs of the conservation reserves program have outgrown the original direction.
Currently, plans are not required for conservation reserves, since the applicable section of Public Lands Act has not yet been proclaimed as law. Thus, MNR is not legally obligated to plan for conservation reserves. This problem is then further compounded, since MNR itself recognizes that at this point any existing plans will not have the force of law. However, ministry policy requires that one of two types of management plans be developed for a conservation reserve, either a “statement of conservation interest” or a “resource management plan.” The intent and purpose of these types of plans are no different from those for provincial parks – and no less important. A statement of conservation interest is the minimum level of policy direction for a conservation reserve, identifying the purpose and outlining the management intent for the area. For a conservation reserve with complex issues, the ministry develops a comprehensive resource management plan that may detail additional actions, information, and options.
Only 145 out of 234 regulated conservation reserves (62%) have approved plans, of which three are resource management plans. MNR policy stipulates that a conservation reserve will have a policy in place for its management within three years of the regulation of the site, but almost 200 were established more than three years ago.
Because of the limitations of the Public Lands Act, according to MNR, the only legal mechanism for protecting lands within conservation reserves is for the ministry to erect signs that prohibit certain activities. But ministry staff have acknowledged that relying solely on signs is not a workable approach, especially when there is insufficient capacity for enforcement. Other MNR staff have commented that the ministry needs to change the legislation so that it is an offence to damage the environment.
Reviews of existing plans
There is no requirement under the Public Lands Act for the scheduled reviews of plans for conservation reserves. Ministry policies and procedures for conservation reserves also do not address if or how often reviews should occur. However, given that environmental threats, land use patterns, and conservation priorities change over time, it is important to review the plans for conservation reserves to ensure that they remain relevant and effective. New planning may be periodically required, for example, to protect against an emerging environmental threat or to respond to a new kind of recreational activity.
Public consultation
Ministry policy recognizes that statements of conservation interest “may require some level of public consultation” and that compliance requirements of the EBR “will be met.” However, not one of the 142 completed statements of conservation interest has been posted on the Environmental Registry for public review and comment. Despite this fact, MNR field managers have selectively consulted individuals or organizations in developing a significant number of these plans. Ministry staff have acknowledged that this approach is inadequate and that broader consultation is needed, given that statements of conservation interest may be the only planning document that is ever developed for these areas.
MNR relies on two different justifications for not consulting the general public. First, a key 1998 internal memo gives MNR staff discretion to decide whether the public should be consulted: that is, if the preparation of a statement of conservation interest merits public consultation, then it will be posted on the Environmental Registry. The ECO disagrees with MNR’s position that ministry staff can decide on a case-by-case basis whether public consultation is necessary. The ministry itself has recognized that statements of conservation interest are policies, and the EBR requires that all environmentally significant policies should be posted on the Environmental Registry for a minimum 30-day comment period.
Second, in 2004, MNR informed the ECO that it believes that public consultation is not required if there was previous consultation on the area’s protection. This position implies that site-specific planning options were a component of public consultations during the OLL planning process. However, this was not the case. OLL established new areas for protection, but it did not address the individual planning issues of each area, such as where to locate a snowmobile trail or how to protect a particular species in a conservation reserve. Furthermore, when MNR posted notices on the Environmental Registry about the regulation of the boundaries of these sites, they were posted as “exception” notices, which eliminates the opportunity for public comment.
ECO Comment
The ECO believes that the system of planning for Ontario’s protected areas is in need of substantial attention. Only 38 out of 548 protected areas (7 per cent) in Ontario have approved plans that involved public consultation and that are not in need of review. Without sound planning and conscientious management, Ontario’s protected areas are little more than “paper parks” – simple lines on a map.
The majority of provincial parks do not have plans, and the plans of nearly all those that do are badly outdated. Most conservation reserves do have plans, but the general public was never consulted in their development.
In the case of provincial parks, MNR is not following its own planning requirements, and in the case of conservation reserves, few planning requirements exist. In both cases, the current legislation governing these areas gives little direction.
Ecological monitoring and effective enforcement are dependent upon management plans. However, MNR reports that almost half of all operating provincial parks do not have sufficient staff or funding to meet existing minimum standards of operation. Non-operating parks typically have no staff or funding whatsoever.
The ECO believes that the lack of public consultation on conservation reserves, in contrast to the high standard of consultation for provincial parks, may be the result of the organizational structure within the ministry. Conservation reserves are not administered by Ontario Parks, the branch within MNR responsible for protected areas, but rather by the Field Services Division. Ministry staff have expressed concern that differences exist between Ontario Parks and Field Services Division with respect to philosophy, management, and communications.
In its 2001/2002 annual report, the ECO recommended that MNR “create a new legislative framework for provincial parks and protected areas, including conservation reserves, with the mandate of conserving biodiversity.” (Please see 2001 Request to Review the Provincial Parks Act for the full discussion.) In response, the ministry acknowledged that new legislation is needed. However, MNR stated that it would not initiate a review at that time, since staff and funds were engaged in the implementation of OLL.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the current version of the Provincial Parks Act. A total of eight parks existed when this legislation was enacted in 1954, but the Act now regulates 314 provincial parks. This Act does not reflect our current understanding of the ecological sciences or the role of environmental planning for protected areas. With the exception of the Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park, not one of Ontario’s protected areas is legally mandated to conserve biodiversity or currently required to have a management plan.
The ECO believes that a fundamental component of new protected areas legislation should be explicit planning requirements. Planning should be mandatory for all of Ontario’s protected areas, including a legal requirement for public consultation and scheduled reviews. Of equal importance are the resources available to the ministry to carry out planning, management, monitoring and enforcement. In the interim, the province should undertake a review of whether MNR has adequate resources to implement the ministry’s legal responsibilities and policy commitments for protected areas. (For ministry comments, see page 198.)
| Recommendation 4:
The ECO recommends that MNR require the preparation and timely revision of management plans for all protected areas, including provisions for public consultation. |
| This is an article from the 2003/04 Annual Report to the Legislature from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. |
Citing This Article
Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 2004. "Needed: Better Planning for Protected Areas." Choosing our Legacy, ECO Annual Report, 2003-04. Toronto, ON : Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. 41-47.
