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Increasing volumes of solid waste, implicated in environmental pollution and health problems, are central to the current environmental crisis. In two randomized field experiments, we demonstrate that convenience dramatically boosts recycling and composting rates in multi-family dwellings and university residences. When compost bins were placed on each floor in a multi-family residence, instead of on the ground floor, composting rates increased by 70%, diverting 27 kilograms of compost from the landfill per unit per year. When recycling stations were placed just meters from suites in student residences, instead of in the basement, recycling increased by 147% (container), and 137% (paper), and composting increased by 139%, diverting 23, 22, and 14 kilograms of containers, paper, and compost, respectively, from the landfill per person per year. Simply making recycling and composting convenient can significantly increase waste diversion, and as such this single intervention has important implications for waste management and environmental policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the conceptual framework of a holistic, intelligent decision-support system (IDSS) to plan, manage and optimize water quality monitoring programs (WQMPs) for surface waters. WQMPs are a crucial component of water management because information on water quality is essential when taking action such as legislative compliance, environmental projects, urban and infrastructure development. Planning, managing and optimizing WQMPs is a complex process and requires multiple variables, rules and subject matter expert knowledge. The specific goals of this paper were to (1) assess to what extent the subject domain (WQMPs) is deemed appropriate for an IDSS; (2) describe the design process of the conceptual framework; (3) present the main elements of the system architecture; (4) present two case studies that served as potential end users; (5) illustrate the applicability of the IDSS and (6) describe subsequent steps to further test the IDSS. The IDSS was developed on the premise that the proposed system could (1) improve quality, (2) capture undocumented expertise that is perishable or in short supply (tacit knowledge), (3) provide accessible expertise to novice users, (4) have a training effect on users, and (5) show that the system, even partially complete, could still be useful. Our initial assumptions regarding these points were validated through interviews with subject matter experts. The conceptual framework was designed based on a literature review, interviews with 44 subject matter experts from Europe, Canada and the United States, interaction with end users from two case studies in the Province of Quebec, Canada, and five information technology experts from Canada and Germany. The IDSS presented in this paper will facilitate the planning, management and optimization of WQMPs. It will be exportable to various watersheds and consider the WQMP planner's need to update the network rapidly if changes occur in human, financial and technical resources. Holistic and adaptable decision-support system to plan, manage and optimize surface water quality monitoring programs Management and decision support system for knowledge acquisition processes on water quality System integrates tacit and explicit knowledge on water quality monitoring challenges Management and decision support system based on tacit knowledge from 44 experts and two case studies Adapted design methodology for an Intelligent decision-support system [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web-based multilingual tools to facilitate communication between Local and Indigenous Communities is an environmental technology approach emerging under the United Nations Biodiversity Global Agenda. To better address present climate resilience-building challenges in the current smart world, this contribution presents innovative avenues leading to the development of the « e-GIS Smart, Inclusive, and, Climate-resilient Indigenous Peoples Landscape and Community Clearing-House Mechanism Solution » which is meant to be used in the mobile-friendly website environment and the e-app environment. This technology policy paper shows that digital GIS, remote sensing products of observation satellites, and smartphone applications products derived from telecommunication satellites can help facilitate Indigenous Peoples' contribution to climate resilience-building within their territories in terms of biodiversity and within their communities in terms of poverty eradication throughout the implementation of the United Nations Indigenous Peoples' Affairs Global Agenda. The methodology used consists, therefore, of a plural technology interface that promises, among many other benefits, to facilitate Indigenous Peoples' participation in decision-making processes. This research reminds us of the importance of state responsibility in these matters. It shows the importance of Indigenous Peoples' participation in the implementation of global instances' agendas through national reporting. It highlights the key role of Indigenous information decolonization and governance as principles of Indigenous Peoples' sovereignty over Indigenous information. The results of this research are illustrated with case studies, when possible, to show the potential of the Solution to achieve its goals in climate resilience-building in Indigenous Peoples Landscapes and Communities with Indigenous Peoples and the financial support of state governments and inter-governmental institutions. In Canada, the use of the Solution to move forward in the Indigenous Peoples Affairs' agenda, has the potential, among others, to enhance the expected outcome of the Canadian First Nations Data Governance Strategy (FNDGS) which is adopted as a response to an evolving smart planet to ensure no First Nation is left behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a study of policy implementation of green infrastructure and stormwater management in the City of Toronto – Canada's largest city. The analysis uses key informant interviews with public, private and non-profit sector actors to examine the challenges municipalities face in implementing green infrastructure policies. The article begins with a review of the literature related to green infrastructure policy implementation followed by the theoretical and methodological approach used in the paper. Findings are then presented outlining the significant barriers to green infrastructure and insights from participants who articulated that rather than a shift from grey to green, what is evident in terms of policy change is policy layering and very gradual conversion of well-established policies that support grey infrastructure. The paper concludes with a discussion of why the shift from grey to green will continue to be challenging unless significant policy and institutional changes are advanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human health and well-being benefits have increasingly been associated with contact with nature. However, limited research has focused on the influence of ecosystem type and quality on these outcomes. This paper reports on the results of an in-situ survey of 467 visitors to an Ontario protected area. Results revealed high overall restorative outcomes across all ecosystem types, with greater benefits reported for women than men. Perceived ecosystem quality, including species richness, naturalness, and ecological integrity, had the greatest impact on restorative outcomes, while the type of ecosystem and time spent had surprisingly little influence. Greater restorative outcomes for women were also associated with specific ecosystem types. The study advances our limited understanding of the nuanced relationship between human health and well-being outcomes and exposure to diverse ecosystems, and by extenstion the unique aspects of biodiversity and ecosystem condition that Canada's protected areas exhibit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines two fundamental and inter-related tensions relating to environmental assessment between the desire to be proactive, promoting sustainable development and the more traditional practice of preventing harm, as well as the need to balance a predictable, expeditious and efficient process with transparency and inclusive deliberation. Proposed reforms to the environmental assessment process in Ontario, Canada, are examined as a case in point, showing how the recommendations in Ontario are consistent with international trends. In particular, over-arching principles need to be embedded in more precise sector-specific policies to enable environmental assessment processes to meet these competing goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resource industries are increasingly significant actors in environmental decision-making. Possessing vast institutional and technical capacity, firms have an important role to play in ‘new’ governance strategies such as collaboration. These strategies are often based upon assumptions of equitable influence. This paper investigates the nature of resource industry participation in collaborative water governance in Canada, and the potential consequences of that participation as investigated using power theory. The study used comparative cases to reveal that resource industries are able to shape collaboration, and the issues collaborated upon, at multiple analytical levels both internal and external to the collaborative process in ways not available to other actors. Analysis also revealed that resource industry participation in collaboration did not reflect a commitment to engage in shared learning and the reexamination of values and interests as presupposed by collaborative theory. Collaboration is thus challenged in producing equitable, representative outcomes when resource industries participate.ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHERCopyright of Journal of Environmental Planning & Management is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consensus-based multi-stakeholder forms of environmental governance involving government, private and civil society actors, have become popular for advancing sustainability, but have been criticized for failing to achieve procedural justice objectives including recognition, participation and strengthening capabilities. Yet, how such models have functioned within non-governmental organizations dedicated to advancing sustainability has been underexplored. This paper assesses the procedural elements of consensus-based multi-stakeholder models used within Canadian biosphere reserves and model forests, two organizations working to address environment and sustainability issues. We draw on strategic documents and semi-structured interviews from five organizations in Canada to analyze their governance structures and processes against a framework for procedural justice. We find the organizational structure reproduces elitism and professionalism associated with stakeholder models more generally and reproduces challenges associated with recognition, participation and building capabilities found in other stakeholder approaches. Meeting broader sustainability challenges requires organizations to address procedural justice issues in addition to their traditional environmental concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Decisions about energy in developing communities are challenging from a technical standpoint, and because of the unique characteristics that typify them, e.g. limited infrastructure and government budgets, complex social and political arrangements, and economic vulnerability. Against the backdrop of these challenges, the government of Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT) is attempting to reform the region's energy system. This paper provides insights from the decision sciences, stemming from our work on the NWT's energy planning process, about how to structure decisions about energy development and delivery so as to effectively meet a range of stakeholders’ objectives in a transparent and inclusive manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the perceptions of policy makers and rural agricultural producers in respect of policy framing and adaptation to climate change, social learning and stakeholder input (participation) surrounding two successful agri-environmental programmes in Saskatchewan, Canada. Given the record of success of these two programmes in reducing vulnerability to climate change, this study provides an opportunity to explore certain attributes of adaptive management, including: what attributes make policy and programmes responsive; how government can frame programmes facilitating adaptation to climate change; what types of mechanisms can or should be used to engage with producers; and perhaps most importantly, what producers expect of government, government policies and programmes in relation to adaptation to climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While a number of studies have shown that blacks, Hispanics and the poor are disproportionately exposed to pollution hazards, particularly in the United States, there are much fewer that focus on the processes contributing to environmental injustices. This paper contributes to the environmental justice literature by exploring local environmental conflict over a pollution hazard (municipal solid waste) to further decipher the process(es) that may perpetuate environmental injustices. Through a Canadian qualitative case study involving in-depth interviews with residents, we emphasize important deficits in, and experiences of, public participation throughout the environmental assessment process. We do this by recounting the experiences of black residents from a small rural community near two landfills in Eastern Canada. We find that there are subtle processes – linked primarily to public participation – that create and sustain environmental injustices by ultimately denying residents the opportunity to say “no” to unwanted developments. This case highlights both the process of injustice as well as the experience of injustice. The procedural culprits contribute to the production and reproduction of environmental injustice, demonstrating that environmental injustice is not simply a result of exposure to pollution; environmental injustice is a result of a number of long established practices, which in order to be remedied, techniques must be tailored to be inclusive of an affected population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stakeholder participation is a vital component of successful Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA). SEA, an evaluation of environmental and sustainability consequences of strategic initiatives prior to their implementation, seeks to ensure that various stakeholder perspectives are considered early in the strategic decision-making process. However, once the implementation decisions are taken, are the stakeholders consulted with, or involved in, strategy implementation and SEA follow-up? If so, how can participatory processes benefit delivery of strategies and follow-up? These questions remain largely unexplored due to the conventional focus on ex ante SEA and limited knowledge about SEA follow-up. This paper explores the role and potential of stakeholder participation processes in facilitating SEA follow-up in the case of a 20-year Pasquia-Porcupine Forest Management Plan (FMP), in Saskatchewan (Canada). It explores different forms of stakeholder participation in the FMP and SEA follow-up implementation and identifies the associated benefits for SEA follow-up. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper evaluates an innovative two-tiered model of collaborative planning designed to increase participation of First Nations in resource and environmental planning in British Columbia, Canada. Like a one-tiered model, the two-tiered model engages stakeholders in face-to-face negotiations to develop a consensus plan. However, to finalize an agreement, recommendations from the first tier are then sent to a second tier of negotiations that includes only two parties – First Nations and the provincial government. This innovative two-tiered collaborative process was designed to meet the unique position of First Nations and address the problem of low First Nations participation in previous single-tiered collaborative planning processes. Results based on 26 evaluative criteria indicate the two-tiered process was successful in increasing First Nations engagement while still meeting the interests of non-aboriginal stakeholders who did not participate at the second tier of negotiations. However, results also indicate a need to revise the two-tiered process to improve buy-in from non-aboriginal stakeholders while continuing to respect First Nations' constitutional rights. With these revisions, results suggest that a two-tiered collaborative planning model is a viable option worthy of consideration for cases in which one or more participants, such as aboriginal populations, have unique rights and interests that need to be accommodated in the process design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to describe a method for evaluating the vulnerability of drinking water systems to contamination, in particular in rural regions used intensively for agriculture. To do so, various indicators were developed to represent the source to tap multi-barrier approach for drinking water safety. These indicators correspond to four barriers: source susceptibility to contamination; water treatment efficiency; distribution system management; and, overall management of water quality. The indicators were classified, regrouped and weighted within a model based on a multi-criteria analysis. The method was developed and applied to 39 municipal water systems of rural Quebec, Canada. The model obtained can be used for planning purposes to prioritise water systems requiring improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Maitland Watershed Partnerships (MWPs) is a multi-stakeholder forum established in 1999 in an agricultural watershed in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. This paper presents 10 lessons emerging from the participatory evaluation of the MWPs carried out in 2005. As suggested in the literature and highlighted by the experience of the MWPs, multi-stakeholder collaboration and integration is about learning how to cope with and take advantage from difference, diversity and divergence. Watershed partnerships are arenas in which different types of knowledges, diverse values and divergent sectoral perspectives, are confronted. In this context, inter-organizational leadership is essential to develop and sustain collaborative advantage among multiple public, private and civil society actors. According to the experience of the MWPs, however, embracing difference, diversity and divergence should go well beyond initial planning stages. Instead, pursuing compromise and agreement should also be at the forefront during the monitoring and evaluation stages. Negotiating indicators for monitoring and evaluation that can address water management both as a social process and a technical process is critical, as is making the distinction between partnership outputs and partnership outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a qualitative case study, this paper describes the everyday experience of conflict as a serious impact of noxious facilities. It describes intra-community conflict over two existing waste facilities (a regional landfill and a low-level hazardous waste facility) in Ryley, Alberta, Canada. Twenty-seven in-depth face-to-face interviews and one focus group reveal deep conflict presented as frustration, anger, social isolation and strained social relations between locals who ‘support’ the facilities as a means of bolstering the local economy and those who do not (mainly long-time resident farmers). Although the type of hazard exposure (i.e. existing facilities) is important for explaining why conflict developed and became entrenched, it is argued that the nature of community, and in particular differences in ways of life, are also critical determinants. The findings are compared to theory and other case studies concerning why social conflict develops over technological hazards. Implications for environmental impact assessment and environmental appeals are discussed, as well as compensation as one avenue for equitably reducing conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the application of the precautionary principle in environmental assessment, specifically using the Salmon Aquaculture Review and the Burns Bog Ecosystem Review in British Columbia as case studies. Lessons are drawn and advice is offered. A conceptual model is presented, framed according to the level of uncertainty regarding impacts and the likelihood of those impacts, as well as the irreversibility of impacts on the environmental system. A distinction is made between management strategies that should either avoid the activities in question or allow for adaptive management and, if implemented effectively, prevent or mitigate adverse effects. Applying the precautionary principle in environmental assessment requires, above all, clear communication and the development of a common understanding of the basis for decisions. The model presented in this paper is suggested as a tool from which a more specific methodological framework can be developed on a case by case basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an in-depth analysis of a multi-stakeholder process, the Banff Bow Valley Round Table (BBVRT) convened by a federally appointed task force in 1995 to provide public input and participation in the Banff Bow Valley Study (BBVS). The purpose of this initiative was to address environmental concerns and conflict over governance, development and growth in Banff National Park, Canada. A key finding from the analysis discussed in this paper is how various participants struggled for legitimation at the negotiation table, and how the discourses of science and instrumental reason served to empower certain interests and agendas in the process. While the discursive appropriation of ecological science enabled some interests to dominate and to legitimize their concerns, this strategy may have intangible and costly consequences for consensus-based processes and for society overall. Analysis of these discursive struggles demonstrates the challenge of bringing ecology and the general public to the same negotiating table in a meaningful way. It shows the conflicting roles and identities of environmental groups who aspire to re-present nature (as a stakeholder) at the negotiating table. Recommendations for multi-stakeholder processes in planning and governance of national parks are presented, along with social implications in the context of historic human-environment dualism and conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest Renewal British Columbia (FRBC) was created in 1994 to deliver programmes of sustainable development within the leading economic sector of the province, serving as a key element of the radical new natural resource management agenda being promoted by an interventionist provincial administration. Its funding consisted solely of the hypothecated revenues of a 'super' stumpage on timber harvesting. This paper considers the role FRBC played in helping to gain agreement to changes in provincial land use planning and forest strategy, and evaluates its effectiveness as an eco-tax recycling mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the nature of the economic costs and risks involved in brownfield versus greenfield redevelopment in the Greater Toronto Area (Ontario, Canada) from a private sector perspective, and assesses the potential effectiveness of different policies and programmes designed to attenuate associated costs and risks. Through interviews, case-studies and an analysis of hypothetical development scenarios, it has been found that the perception that brownfield redevelopment is less cost-effective and entails greater risks than greenfield development, on the part of the private sector, is true for industrial projects in the province, but not for residential ones, which were found to be feasible, given the assumptions of the present study. Furthermore, the study has found that the attractiveness of residential brownfield projects can increase considerably with minor policy changes, but that promoting industrial redevelopment will require a more vigorous approach that employs a variety of environmental policy and economic development measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Designing or transforming urban areas into 'sustainable cities' is becoming an increasingly common vision. It is, however, an unrealizable vision without agreement on how to determine whether a sustainable city vision has been fulfilled. In this paper we define a provisional set of urban environmental sustainability metrics, chosen to cover the spectrum of issues related to urban areas, and to be drawn from data that are customarily available. We devise a display technique to communicate efficiently the results of a metrics evaluation to a variety of stakeholders. The approach is illustrated by applying the metrics set to Vancouver, Canada, an urban area that has expended considerable effort toward achieving its own environmental vision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the noxious facilities siting literature by exploring some implications of adhering to some recommended principles and practices for competent siting. Through a qualitative case study of a landfill siting process in Peel (Ontario, Canada) three principles are critically assessed: trust; equity; and community participation. While laudable notions in principle, in practice they can impact each other in important ways which can (potentially) undermine the siting process. These impacts result mainly from the failure to achieve meaningful goals associated with one principle (e.g. community participation) which can exacerbate problems achieving goals associated with other principles (e.g. trust). The resulting discord can be further aggravated by the snowballing of adverse effects over time. In particular, practices for achieving trust and equity were adversely linked, as were the relationships between spatial equity and procedural equity and interregional and intraregional equity. These adverse synergisms were linked together with ineffective community participation which brought the process to a halt. Siting inertia (a process momentum difficult to redirect) and an inflexible siting context contributed to these conflicts. Implications for siting and further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projects that undergo environmental impact assessment (EIA) are rarely rejected. Online registries and anecdotal evidence suggest that authorities approve almost all proposed and assessed projects, though often with mitigation requirements. The objective of this study was: 1) to identify the rules or criteria that reviewers and authorities must observe when considering the acceptance or rejection of projects; and 2) to understand how rare cases of rejection decisions are justified by reviewers. Data were collected through literature and regulatory reviews, and content analysis of review reports related to five Canadian and seven Brazilian rejected projects. Reviewers from Canada and Brazil adopted similar approaches to decision-making based on qualitative reasoning. Rejection recommendations were based on reasons, such as significance of biophysical impacts, sensitivity of locations and community values. The influence of reviewers' recommendations on final decisions remains unknown. The study highlights practical implications and calls for greater transparency and rigor in EIA decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although property rights have been used to understand numerous wildlife issues, such as extinctions, they have rarely been used to provide insights into specific management options. We present analytical frameworks that may be used to characterize property rights to wildlife for the purpose of understanding the implications of management actions for various stakeholders. The frameworks consider multiple types of values, including consumptive, non-consumptive, and passive-use values. Our case study involves the emergence of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) and its potential influence on the rights of stakeholders (i.e. the general public and hunters) in Alberta, Canada. Populating the framework for each stakeholder with characteristics of current property rights allow us to identify: 1) how the emergence of CWD could influence stakeholders' current rights, 2) how management actions could change property rights and associated incentives; and 3) management options that have not been considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking is the leading cause of premature death in Canada. Smoking also pollutes air and generates litter such as cigarette butts. The use of designated smoking areas (DSAs) is increasingly popular on university campuses and has the potential to influence smoking prevalence. It is however found that the related regulations and policies are largely unknown. This study systematically examines the spatial distribution of DSAs at 12 Canadian campuses using ArcGIS Pro, and predicts the required number of DSAs using regression analysis based on a number of climatic, and socio-economic factors identified by cluster analysis. The density of DSAs ranged from 0.119 to 0.739 DSA/104 m2, with an average of 0.354 DSA/104 m2. Results from the regression models suggested that climatic factors are important to the number of DSAs. The proposed spatial analytical approach is also applicable to the design and planning of other major health institutions or residential complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban flooding is a significant climate change risk for cities. Stormwater management (SWM) has emerged as a key policy response to reduce urban vulnerability to flood risk, and it offers an ideal case study for analyzing the governance of climate change adaptation. This article focuses on SWM policy in the Province of Ontario, Canada, with the broader objective of assessing the nature and dynamics of adaptation governance arrangements. The evolution of SWM policy is examined longitudinally to understand how the interaction of policy ideas, actors and institutions have mobilized adaptation principles. The results reveal that, despite consensus on key ideas among policy actors, the institutionalization of adaptation principles into SWM policy lags behind. This finding raises questions about the capacity of regional governments to strengthen local adaptation and underpins the need for further research on the interaction between evolving adaptation priorities and established policy regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formed under 'right-to-know' legislation and public disclosure principles, Pollutant Release and Transfer Registers (PRTRs) are a key policy tool for pollution control. PRTRs affect both social and environmental policy outcomes by making facility pollutant release quantities available to stakeholders. While PRTRs operate under similar principles, they are designed to reflect national priorities. This study investigates and critically discusses the stated policy goals of Canada's National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) to other PRTRs. Notably, there are issues involving data completeness and accuracy, creating gaps in inventory emissions, thereby not reflecting actual emissions. While relative pollutant release levels have decreased, overall toxicity has increased. Coupled with the omission of toxicity factors and pollutant thresholds from the NPRI, this creates a false sense of progress for stakeholders. Making pollutant release data more comprehensive would improve stakeholder engagement and better inform the decision-making process which can be applied to policies across geopolitical scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parks and protected areas are a global ecological, social and health resource visited by over 8 billion people annually. Their use can yield substantial benefits, but only if a balance between ecological integrity and sustainable visitation is struck. This research explores the potential influence of climate-driven environmental change on visitation to North America's most popular glacier, the Athabasca Glacier in Jasper National Park, Canada. Photorealistic environmental visualizations were used to gauge visitors’ perceptions of environmental change and potential impacts on consumer behaviour. Results suggest that impacts could substantially diminish the site's pull as a tourism destination. Rather than improving visitation prospects, expert-proposed adaptations underestimated the importance of perceived naturalness and contributed to further potential decline. Findings are relevant to protected areas planning and management. They suggest that a natural path to climate change adaptation is the best way to support both ecological integrity and the long-term tourism pull of protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Identifying and communicating uncertainty is core to effective environmental assessment (EA). This study evaluates the extent to which uncertainties are considered and addressed in Canadian EA practice. We reviewed the environmental protection plans, follow-up programs, and panel reports (where applicable) of 12 EAs between 1995 and 2012. The types of uncertainties and levels of disclosure varied greatly. When uncertainties were acknowledged, practitioners adopted five different approaches to address them. However, uncertainties were never discussed or addressed in depth. We found a lack of suitable terminology and consistency in how uncertainties are disclosed, reflecting the need for explicit guidance, and we present recommendations for improvement. Canadian Environmental Impact Statements are not as transparent with respect to uncertainties as they should be, and uncertainties in EA need to be better considered and communicated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collaboration is an increasingly important approach to dealing with complex environmental challenges. Participation of diverse actors in collaborative processes necessitates attention to the use of different forms of knowledge. We use a multi-case study of governance for water in New Brunswick, Canada, to explore knowledge-related concerns that are prominent in collaborative processes. As is common in other contexts, local or lay (experiential) forms of knowledge appeared to play complementary but ultimately subordinate roles to expert technical and scientific knowledge in the cases. Importantly, we found that the distinction between ‘expert’ and ‘local’ knowledge was not at all clear for the many participants. This study reinforces the importance of designing reflexive and flexible processes for encouraging the active engagement and use of knowledge in collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluates the Canadian Voluntary Climate and Challenge Registry (VCR), an important policy in Canada's approach to climate change during the 1990s. First, we relate the set of practices prescribed under the VCR to the well-established Plan-Do-Check-Act framework of environmental management systems (EMSs). We then examine VCR adoption and find that firms with past experience with management systems and firms in provinces with different legal, economic and institutional factors were more likely to adopt VCR. We do not find, however, EMS adopters under the VCR had significantly different GHG releases than non-adopters in the immediate years after the VCR programme ended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban forests deliver essential environmental services to the city in which they grow. Few entities are better positioned to provide consistent broad-scale maintenance and protection of urban trees than are large downtown landowners. We present a case study that investigates the structure and function of an urban forest growing on a large institutional property in Toronto, Canada, and determine a 1.35:1 economic benefit-to-cost ratio of investment in tree maintenance. The study provides a roadmap for institutional properties to use in assessing the ecological benefits of their current tree populations. We argue that municipal policies that incentivise tree care and maintenance are critical in order to safeguard and enhance the public benefits of trees growing on institutional land. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for sustainable communities might be fostered by a new 'place-based' governing approach that engages civil society and other actors in local decision-making processes. In Canada, lessons can be learned from the establishment and maintenance of biosphere reserves by networks of local communities of interests and other organisations. Biosphere reserves are created to promote conservation, biodiversity and sustainable livelihoods. Municipal and public participation in these reserves can be encouraged, promoting a local sense of place as well as sustainable community and regional development. An examination of two Canadian biosphere reserves, Riding Mountain and Long Point, illustrates how local governments and these reserves might assist each other in their mutual goals of long-term sustainability while offering a worthwhile model of local collaborative, place-based governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drive point peizometers were installed at the stream-riparian interface in a small urbanizing southern Ontario catchment to measure the effect of buffers (presence/ absence) and land use (urban/agricultural) on the movement of NO - 3 -N in shallow groundwater from the riparian area to the stream. Mean NO - 3 -N concentrations ranged from 1.0 to 1.3 mg L -1 with maximum values of 9.4 mg L -1 . Holding land use constant, there was no significant difference (p>0.05) in NO - 3 3-N concentration between buffered and unbuffered sites. Nitrate-N levels were not significantly different (p>0.05) as a function of land use. The lack of difference between sites as a function of buffer absence/presence and land use is probably due to the placement of some peizometers in low conductivity materials that limited groundwater flow from the riparian zone to the stream. Subsurface factors controlling the hydraulic gradient are important in defining buffer effectiveness and buffer zones should not be used indiscrim inately as a management tool in urban and agricultural landscapes to control nitrate-N loading in shallow groundwater to streams without detailed knowledge of the hydrogeo logic environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of a substantive integrator is introduced as a method for integrated resource and environmental management as a means to assimilate different resource values at the operational or field level. A substantive integrator is a strategic management tool for integrating multiple uses into corporate management regimes that traditionally manage for single values. Wildlife habitat management is presented as a substantive integrator for managing vegetation on electric utility power line corridors. A case study from northern British Columbia provides an example of wildlife habitat management as a means to integrate other resource values such as aesthetics, access and subsistence along British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority's transmission rights-of-way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governments and industries in the natural resources sectors are beginning to recognize the importance of adopting a more holistic approach to resource management. Canada has been a global leader in the adoption of multi-stakeholder approaches to mineral resource policy design and development. As such, Canada offers a worthwhile case-study in which to examine the changing resource management environment of the mineral industry. Of particular interest here is the role that can be played by the federal department, Natural Resources Canada, and the Canadian mineral industry in fostering an integrated and sustainable strategy for the mineral sector. Integrated resource and environmental management offers a useful conceptual foundation on which to base this strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Explores the factors that predict volunteers' involvement in an environmental stewardship group whose member play a role in Don River Watershed restoration in Toronto, Ontario. Definition of volunteer environmental stewardship groups; Objective and hypothesis of the study; Methodologies and variables used on the study; Discussion of the results; Implications for research.

Presents a method for evaluating the pollution control performance of an on-stream stormwater pond in Kingston, Ontario in removing selected urban stormwater constituents. Constituent mass balances for both baseflow and event conditions as basis for the assessment; Removal rates for contaminants; Regulation of constituent removal by physical processes.

Describes the Public Registry System developed and implemented under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act. Legal requirements for the public registry; Principles and components of the Public Registry System; Public access to the information about environmental assessments.

Discusses conceptual and applied approaches and methods in siting locally unwanted waste facilities in Canada. Environmental suitability; Social equity; Community control; Site selection exercise results; Groundwork; Stakeholder involvement.

Analyzes seasonal variability in particulate phosphorus (P) in riverbed sediment along the longitudinal gradient of an agricultural watershed in southern Ontario. Determination of particulate P forms by sequential extraction; Concentrations of the nonapatite P (NAIP) and organic P (OP) in fine grained sediments; Focus for P abatement programs; Nutrient management practices.

Discusses certain aspects of systematic environmental reporting and planning in Canada. Responses to monitoring and management of environmental quality resulting from the 1992 Earth Summit; Nature of environmental reporting; Process of environmental reporting; Reflections on the state of the environment (SoE) reporting process.