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Wetland conservation in British Columbia: the role of environmental non-government organizations in Burns Bog

University of British Columbia

This thesis examines the role of environmental non-government organizations in relation to the role and responsibility of government for wetland conservation in British Columbia. The role of a small community-based environmental organization called the Burns Bog Conservation Society in decisions about Burns Bog, a large privately-owned wetland located in the Lower Mainland, is analyzed. Drawing from a broad range of literature on environmentalism and conservation, the thesis begins with an historical account of the environmental movement, giving a broad view of environmental conservation and the role of environmental organizations. A typology of roles and analytical framework is subsequently derived from a study of environmental non-government organizations involved in managing water resources in British Columbia's Fraser River Basin. Three main roles, advocacy, supplemental and transformative, are discussed as they relate to activities prior to and during the Burns Bog Analysis, a provincially established land use study of Burns Bog. This research found that a small community-based environmental organization, through advocacy, can ensure that ecological integrity is not neglected as a result of poor planning and decision-making. The case study demonstrates that a small environmental organization can pressure governments to broaden their view of land-use and environmental issues, assuring more informed decision-making. An environmental organization can also supplement the regular roles and responsibilities of government, first by supplying a service that government is unable or unwilling to provide, and second by participating in and legitimizing consensus-based decision-making processes. The case study demonstrates how a small environmental organization can provide and review information and participate in creating options and solutions in land-use decisions. Finally, an environmental organization can influence, overtime, the fundamental restructuring of government planning and decision-making processes and transform the way society thinks and operates. The thesis concludes that environmental non-government organizations have an important role to play in ensuring the recognition and conservation of British Columbia's wetlands in government planning and decision-making processes; in informing and educating government and the public about ecological systems and their values; and in counter-balancing strong economic, political and development interests.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-01-31

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/4027

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University of British Columbia

UBCV

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