The Federal Policy On Wetland Conservation

The purpose of this paper is to describe Canada's frameworks for wetland conservation. It first describes the policy framework, looking at federal, provincial, and industry sector policies on wetlands. It then reviews the legislative framework, summarizing federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction & statutes concerning wetlands. The final section summarizes common themes & features found in wetland policies, discusses their evolution, and indicates issues for further study. Appendices include a discussion of wetland definitions and a summary of wetland policies & statutes by jurisdiction.

A workshop was held to encourage the exchange of experience with wetland policy implementation in Canada, to discuss strategies and approaches with respect to issues involved in implementation procedures and guidelines for these wetland policies, and to prepare a national summary paper on wetland policy implementation. This document presents the text of 14 invited presentations at the workshop covering the development, evolution, and implementation of wetland policy. The document also provides a summary of working group discussions and workshop recommendations, and includes the workshop agenda, a list of participants, and a directory of wetland policy documents and source agencies.

This report explores the position of Canada with respect to wetland policy and describes the path taken to arrive at this point. The report addresses the role of policy in wetland conservation; progress on the adoption of wetland policies in Canada; milestones in Canadian wetland conservation; and trends in wetland conservation policy. Appendices include factsheets on the positions of the Federal and the Alberta, Ontario, and Saskatchewan Governments as well as the pulp and paper industry and the Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association; a description of wetland programs in Canada and the North American Waterfowl Management Plan; and wetland policy and scientific research needed.

"The following guideline has been developed to identify for proponents of projects the types of information and analyses that Environment Canada would expect in the wetlands section of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The guideline has been developed to be consistent with The Federal Policy on Wetland Conservation(Government of Canada 1991), referred to herein as the federal policy; the Implementation Guide for Federal Land Managers (Lynch-Stewart et al. 1996), called the implementation guide; and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act referred to as CEAA"--Introduction.