Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
ceremonial uses; recreation and tourism; and emerging ocean uses such as the
extraction of wave energy are all in the mix. The West Coast Aquatic Management
Board (WCA) is charged with creating a marine spatial plan for the region. WCA is
a public-private partnership with participation from four levels of government
(Federal, Provincial, local, and First Nations), and diverse stakeholders. Ultimately,
WCA's vision is to manage resources for the benefit of current and future
generations of people and nonhuman species and communities.
Some key pillars of the partnership's strategy are to: use a precautionary,
ecosystem-based approach to protect, maintain, and restore marine and coastal
resources; respect and protect First Nations' food, social and ceremonial
requirements and treaty obligations; integrate expertise and knowledge from First
Nations, local, scientific, and other sources; ensure broad participation in the
planning process; and foster initiatives that maintain or enhance opportunities for
coastal communities to benefit from local resources, while achieving sustainable
social, cultural, and economic benefits for the region. WCA has partnered with the
Natural Capital Project to explore how alternative spatial plans might affect a wide
range of ES and to provide information about trade-offs among ES.
Key considerations for WCA and their stakeholders include balancing important
industrial and commercial activities (such as shipping, mining, logging, aquaculture,
and fisheries), increased development of tourism and recreation, renewable energy
generation, and a strong cultural desire for sustaining the remote, wild feeling of the
place. WCA is exploring the suitability of alternative regions for these different
activities. For example, maps of coastal vulnerability to erosion and flooding from
storm surge are helping to direct coastal development permits to low-risk areas.
Similar maps of the value of captured wave energy are being overlaid with existing
ocean uses (e.g., fishing and recreational activities) to highlight regions of high wave
energy value, where wave energy generation facilities might be constructed while
having minimal impacts on other activities. Examinations of trade-offs among
aquaculture (finfish, shellfish), wild salmon fisheries, recreation (e.g., kayaking,
whale watching, and diving), coastal development (on the coast, as well as
floathomes), and habitat and water quality are underway.
The general framework of ES and ES modeling, in particular, is helping to
articulate connections between human activities that are often considered in isola-
tion, to align diverse stakeholders around common goals, and to make implicit
decisions explicit. ES modeling results have informed early iterations of the marine
spatial plan and will inform the creation of the final plan in 2012.
National Scale: Land-Use Planning and Human
Development in China
The ecosystem service investments being made in China today are impressive in
their goals, scale, duration, and innovation. Following massive droughts and
flooding in 1997-1998, China implemented several national
forestry and
