Canada’s Oceans Act and Oceans Strategy
mandate Fisheries and Oceans Canada to perform integrated coastal
management.
In some cases,
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has worked together with the Province
of B.C. to
collaborate on integrated coastal plans. The Central
Coast Land and Resource Management Plan is an example of
this collaboration.
The Simon Fraser University Centre for Coastal Studies
performs research about coastal resources and coastal planning.
Proceedings of an April 2003 conference about coastal planning
will soon be posted
on their website.
One way for communities to become involved in
coastal planning is through community-based monitoring and mapping
of our
resources. The Shorekeepers program provides tools for communities
to map and monitor shoreline habitats. A Ucluelet chapter has
recently been established. The Ocean Management Research Network’s
Integrated Management Node includes a working
group on this topic.
Richard Martell has written a thesis that asks hard questions
about community-based
monitoring in the Long Point Biosphere Reserve, and how it
can support sustainable development. The UBC Fisheries Centre
has published a report on the use of
volunteer
divers for marine research and monitoring.
The Community Mapping Network provides an opportunity
for community groups to access maps of various coastal resources
and activities, as well as to add our own information to those
maps. The Living Oceans Society also provides
some coastal resource
maps for Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds.
The Pacific Rim National Park Reserve is the most prominent
example of a marine protected area in Clayoquot and Barkley Sounds.
Parks Canada also has a country-wide National
Marine Conservation Area program.