J. Gordon Nelson

Ecological approach to resource survey and planning for environmentally significant Areas: The ABC method

A resource survey and planning method for parks, reserves, and other environmentally significant areas (ESAs) is presented in the context of a holistic balanced approach to land use and environmental management. This method provides a framework for the acquisition, analysis, presentation, and application of diverse ecological data pertinent to land use planning and resource management within ESAs. Through the independent analysis and subsequent integration of abiotic, biotic, and cultural or ABC information, land areas within an ESA are identified in terms of their relative environmental significance and environmental constraints. The former term encompasses wildlife, historic, and other resource values, while the latter term reflects biophysical hazards and sensitivities, and land use conflicts. The method thus calls for a matching of an ESAs distinctive attributes with appropriate land use and institutional arrancements through an analysis of available acts, regulations, agencies, and other conservation and land use management mechanisms. The method culminates with a management proposal showing proposed park or reserve allocations, buffer areas, or other land use controls aimed at preserving an ESAs special ecological qualities, while providing for resource development. The authors suggest that all resource management decisions affecting ESAs should be governed by a philosophical stance that recognizes a spectrum of broad land use types, ranging from preservation to extractive use and rehabilitation.

The Arctic as a Regional Sea

Although many people still view the Arctic as little affected by human activity, the region has been the home of Man for thousands of years and its wildlife and ecology have been changed in many ways in the last four hundred years as a result particularly of the commercial and technical activities of western industrial nations. Three forces are, however, now bringing more and more attention to the use and conservation of arctic lands and seas: (a) arctic petroleum exploration and development, which is becoming increasingly extensive offshore in Alaska, Canada, and Norway; (2) The Law of the Sea Convention, which is leading to the division of the formerly open Arctic into large spheres of national jurisdiction through the declaration of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ); and (3) the World Conservation Strategy, which is providing the conceptual basis for the international cooperation and comprehensive management that is clearly needed to introduce sustainable development in the Arctic. It is suggested that one promising means of planning and implementing balanced use and conservation in the waters and adjacent lands of the Arctic is through the UNEP Regional Seas Programme. This institutional arrangement is already being used in similar resource-management circumstances in eleven other regions of the world. The Regional Seas Programme is action-oriented and includes four basic elements: (1) promotion of international and regional conventions, guidelines, and activities; (2) assessment of marine pollution and related effects; (3) coordination in protection, development, and management; and (4) support through training, education, and other means.

Heritage Resources Centre

Occasional Paper 2, AN EXTERNAL PERSPECTIVE ON PARKS CANADA FUTURE STRATEGIES, 1986-2001 by Gordon Nelson. 1984, 62 pp.;

Flooding and erosion hazards on the ontario great lakes shoreline: a human ecological approach to planning and management

5.00 (incl. postage and handling). Gordon Nelson gives an external perspective on 17 issues seen as requiring Canadian Parks Service policy attention from 1986-2001. The report includes a brief history of national parks and other means of protecting heritage, and stresses changes that may be necessary in ideology, politics and institutions.

Institutional Arrangements for Individual Environmentally Significant Areas: The Case of Aishihik, Yukon

Abstract Understanding flood and erosion hazards in the context of developing coastal management plans requires an appreciation for variations in climate, geology, vegetation, land uses, human activities and institutional arrangements. On the Great Lakes, fluctuating water levels are characterized by temporal variations in their magnitude and frequency and their impact on flooding and erosion also differ from site to site. The traditional planning and management mechanisms in Ontario, through the use of emergency responses and land use setbacks, have been insufficient in resolving the rising costs of damage to property due to flooding and erosion along the Great Lakes shoreline. There is a need to develop an alternative management model with a focus on understanding hazards in the context of their natural and human components. A case study of the preparation of a resource survey for the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority illustrates the development of a human ecological approach and its applicability i...

Heritage Resources Programme: University of Waterloo–Parks Canada

A method is described of applying institutional arrangements to an individual environmentally significant area (ESA). It is assumed that an ESA has been recognized by park, wildlife, or other groups, on the basis of abiotic, biotic, and/or cultural, characteristics, as well as judgements about significance and constraints. National park, wildlife reserve, or other, institutional arrangements, may also have been suggested for the ESA. The goal is to decide whether these or other arrangements are appropriate— through analysis of relevant: (1) legislation; (2) agencies; and (3) reserve designation or land management types.

The Spread of Ecotourism: Some Planning Implications

These very special habitats cannot be put under glass, though concerned scientists talk of management. They advocate grazing use, not only in moderation, but also modulated according to the features of the natural salt marshes. In the case of artificial salt marshes they call for maintenance of breakwaters, with restoration of the biological value of salt marshes behind dikes, by opening them up once again to the sea. These principles of conservation management will need to be adopted in Nature reserves to be set up along appropriate coasts. To protect some 1,650 species of invertebrates and over 300 halophilic plants, a genuine European network of biogenetic reserves needs to be established, and quickly. MICHEL GISSY c/o European Information Centre for Nature Conservation Boite Postale: 431 R6 F-67006 Strasbourg Cedex France.