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Pacific north coast integrated management area plan

Table of Contents

3.0 The Planning Process

Figure 3-1 PNCIMA Process Structure

Figure 3-1 PNCIMA Process Structure

3.1 Governance Arrangements

Under the PNCIMA Collaborative Governance MOU, First Nations, Footnote 4 federal and provincial government staff worked together in a Steering Committee that provided strategic direction and executive oversight to the PNCIMA initiative. First Nations, federal and provincial technical staff worked together in a Planning Office which supported the Steering Committee and the Integrated Oceans Advisory Committee. Advice from stakeholders was formally provided by the Integrated Oceans Advisory Committee, which is described in further detail in Section 3.2.

All organizations and individuals who engaged in different components of the PNCIMA process are identified in Appendix 5. The PNCIMA process structure is outlined in Figure 3-1.

First Nations party to the Collaborative Governance MOU coordinated their participation in the PNCIMA Steering Committee through a First Nations Governance Committee consisting of First Nations leaders from Haida Gwaii, the North Coast and the Central Coast, with technical support at the PNCIMA Planning Office from several organizations, including the Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative, North Coast- Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society, Haida Fisheries Program, and the Central Coast Indigenous Resource Alliance. The Regional Committee on Oceans Management informed and coordinated federal and provincial agencies’ participation in the Steering Committee and in the Planning Office. Appendix 5 provides a list of participants on these committees.

Governance mechanisms are expected to evolve as relationships and experience continue to develop. In addition, the federal and provincial governments are committed under the PNCIMA Collaborative Governance MOU to engage and consult with First Nations that are not currently signatories to the PNCIMA Collaborative Governance MOU.

3.2 Engagement of Interested Parties

Figure 3-2 Options for Participating in the PNCIMA Process

Figure 3-2 Options for Participating in the PNCIMA Process

Stakeholder participation was critical to the development of the PNCIMA plan. A detailed description of the engagement approach is provided in the PNCIMA Initiative Engagement Strategy (PNCIMA 2010c). To achieve effective participation, a variety of tools and mechanisms were developed to encourage ongoing engagement and to document the views and knowledge of stakeholders, communities and the general public. These tools and mechanisms are outlined in Figure 3-2. A list of public forums and meetings that were held is provided in Appendix 6.

The PNCIMA Integrated Oceans Advisory Committee (IOAC) was a central component of the PNCIMA planning process and was essential in facilitating ongoing engagement with stakeholders as the process evolved. The IOAC was established as a multi-sector advisory body to provide guidance on the planning process, its outputs and the implementation of the integrated management plan. The IOAC consisted of participants from industry, regional districts, recreational groups, environmental non-governmental organizations and other interested parties. First Nations and federal and provincial governments participated as ex-officio members in order to provide feedback on IOAC discussions. Appendix 5 provides a list of the IOAC membership.

The PNCIMA Steering Committee considered the role of the IOAC to be important in developing the integrated management plan. Throughout the planning process, advice and recommendations from the IOAC were shared with the PNCIMA Steering Committee. Outcomes of the Steering Committee review were shared with the IOAC, which provided an opportunity to resolve differences by consensus, thereby allowing for broad support across participating sectors and interests. Following changes to the planning process in September 2011, as referenced in Section 1.4, engagement with the IOAC changed from a consensus-seeking approach to a more consultative approach. Consequently, the IOAC reached consensus on some but not all elements of the plan. The role of the IOAC is advisory in nature only. Therefore, the plan will not limit or prejudice the positions of the IOAC members in the future.

3.3 Development of the Plan

The PNCIMA planning process, outlined in Figure 3-3, was comprised of many stages, over many years. Once the collaborative planning process was developed and existing information was assembled and assessed, parties began working on developing an EBM framework for PNCIMA.

The framework was jointly developed over the course of 2010, 2011 and 2012 by collaborative governance partners and the IOAC. First, the parties developed a definition of EBM for PNCIMA. Second, assumptions, principles, goals and objectives for the area were formulated. Then strategies that support the overall goals and objectives for PNCIMA were identified. It is important to note the scale and complexities associated with implementing all aspects of each strategy. In order to address this, a number of priorities were identified for short-term implementation.

Management and decision support tools for identifying management issues in PNCIMA were developed concurrently with the EBM framework. In 2012, DFO developed a pilot ecological risk assessment framework to assist with identifying ecological components at greatest risk from human activities (DFO 2012a). This tool continues to be developed and refined. The lack of a decision support tool related to socio-economic and cultural activities in PNCIMA has been identified as a significant gap. Ongoing work on cumulative effects assessment throughout the province has indicated that a collaboratively developed assessment tool or framework would also be useful for PNCIMA.

Together, PNCIMA’s EBM framework, information base and decision support tools form the foundation for integrated ocean management in the area, and will support and enable integrated management within other planning, regulatory and decision-making processes.

Figure 3-3 PNCIMA Initiative Timeline

Figure 3-3 PNCIMA Initiative Timeline

3.4 Related Marine Planning Processes

While the PNCIMA process has focused on developing a strategic level plan for the area, many other marine-based planning processes are under way at various scales both within and adjacent to PNCIMA. The intended role of the PNCIMA plan is to provide an overarching marine EBM framework that is available to guide marine planning and management at these other scales.

A variety of land use plans provide direction on the use and allocation of resources in coastal B.C. Participants in these planning processes recognized that upland activities could have a major bearing on the marine environment, and agreed that more comprehensive integrated marine use planning should be undertaken following completion of regional land use plans. Furthermore, a number of the resulting land use agreements led to the designation of coastal protected areas (which include the marine environment), which require complementary nearshore and foreshore marine planning. Land use plans for areas adjacent to the PNCIMA planning area include the Central Coast and North Coast Land and Resource Management Plans (Coast Land Use Decision), Council of the Haida Nation/B.C. protected area management plans on Haida Gwaii, and the Vancouver Island Regional Land Use Plan. The Nisga’a Final Agreement defines the rights of the Nisga’a Nation with respect to marine and freshwater resources in the Nass area at the northern extent of the planning area.

Marine use plans exist at different scales within the PNCIMA boundary, and include the Johnston Strait-Bute Inlet Coastal Plan, Quatsino Sound Coastal Plan, and North Island Straits Coastal Plan. In addition, the Marine Plan Partnership for the North Pacific Coast (MaPP), a partnership between the Province of British Columbia, Coastal First Nations – Great Bear Initiative, North Coast–Skeena First Nations Stewardship Society and Nanwakolas Council, has developed a Regional Action Framework and sub-regional coastal and marine plans for the North Coast, the Central Coast, North Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii. The federal government was not involved in the MaPP planning process. The MaPP initiative shares the same footprint as PNCIMA and draws from, and builds on, the PNCIMA plan. For example, MaPP adopted the EBM framework established through the PNCIMA initiative. MaPP partners worked with stakeholders and the public to develop strategies and spatial plans that will inform the development, use and protection of marine spaces throughout the area.

A number of the First Nations have developed plans and management tools at multiple scales. These include community, sub-regional and regional integrated marine use plans comprised of goals, objectives, strategies, collaborative government relationships, spatial management and various partnerships with stakeholders.

The PNCIMA planning process also has linkages to a number of marine protected areas. Planning within the Gwaii Haanas National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site will help achieve some of the goals and objectives outlined within this PNCIMA plan. Information gathered by Parks Canada and the Council of the Haida Nation was available to the PNCIMA initiative throughout the plan’s development. Similarly, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Canadian Wildlife Service is leading an initiative to establish a National Wildlife Area in the marine waters surrounding the Scott Islands off the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island. This proposed protected marine area would conserve the marine foraging habitat of the largest seabird colony in British Columbia as well as conserve the marine habitats for other wildlife that uses the area. DFO has also proposed that the Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound glass sponge reefs be designated as a candidate marine protected area, which would provide comprehensive and long-term management and protection for this unique area. In 1997 the CHN designated SGaan Kinghlas as a Haida marine protected area. In 2008 DFO designated Bowie Seamount as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) under Canada’s Oceans Act. Respecting the collaborative approach to the area’s planning and management, it is commonly referred to as the SGaan Kinghlas – Bowie Seamount (SK-B) MPA. Although the area is outside the PNCIMA boundary, there are ecological linkages to PNCIMA.

Additionally, the Province of British Columbia has been working with First Nations in the Haida Gwaii and the Central and North Coast planning regions to identify areas for conservancy/protected area establishment, which includes protection of the marine foreshore. In addition to protecting biodiversity and recreation values, conservancies/ protected areas expressly recognize the importance of some natural areas to First Nations for food, social, ceremonial and cultural uses. Marine foreshore areas for the conservancies/ protected areas in the Haida Gwaii and North Coast planning regions were identified and established through broader strategic land use planning processes that also provide certainty for users and support sustainable economic opportunities for coastal communities. The conservancies/protected areas protect a high diversity of marine landscapes and habitats, including productive estuarine complexes, sea grass meadows, kelp forests and internationally significant seabird nesting colonies. Their selection was based in part on an analysis of ecosystem representation and special feature conservation. In the Central Coast planning region, the Province of British Columbia and First Nations are using management planning processes to identify marine foreshore areas that can be added to coastal conservancies. Detailed values, aspirations and uses for each conservancy are being considered and incorporated into individual protected area management plans.

In addition to these multi-user planning processes, it will be important to consider sector-specific planning and management at various scales during implementation of the PNCIMA plan. DFO develops Integrated Fisheries Management Plans to manage the fishery of a particular species in a given region. These plans combine the best available science on a species with industry data on capacity and methods for harvesting that species. Internationally, Canada is a member of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Additionally, the Pacific Salmon Treaty, signed by Canada and the United States in 1985, provides the framework in which the two countries work together to conserve and manage Pacific salmon.

The Canadian Marine Advisory Council is Transport Canada’s national consultative body for marine matters. Participants include individuals and representatives of parties that have a recognized interest in boating and shipping. The Council addresses concerns regarding safety, recreational matters, navigation, marine pollution and response, and marine security. Internationally, Canada is a member of the International Maritime Organization, whose mission statement is “Safe, secure and efficient shipping on clean oceans” (IMO 2011). There are also ongoing tripartite discussions between the federal government, provincial government and First Nations regarding shipping and transportation issues and related planning.

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