Wetland policy
The issue of wetland conservation and policy has long been an issue of controversy among interest groups and industry. When observing the number of endangered or threatened species that inhabit wetlands it is apparent that there is a pressing need to conserve them, especially when the leading cause of species loss is habitat destruction (Nowlan and Jeffries, 1996). There is currently in place a system of policies and laws which culminate to create a relatively effective means of enforcement, however, through the lack of a single Act which pertains to wetlands there continues to be inadequacies within the system. Though the federal government has released the Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation it is not admissible in court and therefore only stands as recommendations by which the government would like the public to abide. The vastly different types of wetlands located through out B.C. create many difficulties in the creation of a single policy, however, if there was a broad based Act which was committed to the current federal policy of "no net loss of wetlands" it would eliminate the need for overlapping laws at the three levels of government. What Designates an Area as a Wetland
The Provincial Environmental Assessment ActThe Provincial version of the Environmental Assessment Act was passed in 1995, making it newer and more streamlined that of the Federal government and applicable to provincial projects. A Comprehensive Study is one in which an in depth analysis is performed; this is generally needed for a prosecution under the Act to occur (Nowlan and Jeffries, 1996). Though the Fisheries Act is the most powerful policy tool that exists in the protection of wetlands, it does have positive and negative aspects to it. ConclusionEach of the Policies and Acts which pertain to wetlands at the three levels of government has positive and negative attributes which must be considered by Agencies when a prosecution is sought. The Act provides benefits which the CEAA is lacking, in that it depends more on public input and provides a registry of projects for which assessments have been completed. The broad scope of these sections allows them to be applicable to many different situations. Under this policy the government states that it would like to see a goal of "no net loss" of wetland habitat be adopted by the private sector, similar to the "no net loss" of fish habitat which is legislated under the Federal Fisheries Act. There are other areas which are covered by the Act as well, section 10 of the Act states that before any funding is allocated to a First Nations group for a development an environmental impact assessment must first be completed. If there were to be a complete legislation at the federal level that pertained to wetlands, it would eliminate any vagueness that exists with the current system of using many Acts when pursuing a prosecution. By regulating the space allowances around wetlands the Code is able to provide a reasonable amount of protection for all wetlands in it's jurisdiction, the width of this area varies with the classification of a given wetland according to it's sensitivity. The Wildlife ActThe Wildlife Act has a minimal effect in the conservation of wetlands, in that it is only effective when one or more of a limited number of designated endangered species is affected. Significance of WetlandsWetlands have an anthropocentric value which has long been looked over in the development of society, in that they have traditionally been though of as barren wastelands which have no value to humans and therefore have been used as dumping grounds (Schiller and Flanagan, 1997). These investigations may be carried out by any number of agencies including: provincially, the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Forests, and federal departments such as DFO, Environment Canada, the Coast Guard, and Transport Canada among others. Currently the most effective means of preserving wetlands is either to have them designated a provincial park under the Park Act or to have private ownership granted to an interest group either by land allocation or through purchasing the land.
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Acceptance Essays
