Water policy for ecosystem integrity: Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan, Ontario, Canada.

The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan is intended to direct land use and resource management to protect the ecological integrity of the Oak Ridges Moraine. A key challenge in developing the Plan was reconciling appropriate boundaries for water resources management with the Moraine's landform-based, administrative boundary. During the Plan's development, the approach to water resources management evolved from one that was feature-focused and issue-based to one that better recognized the three-dimensional and dynamic nature of aquatic ecosystems. Preventive and mitigative “water provisions” within an integrating framework of watershed planning and adaptive management, are key elements for protection of the Moraine's ecological integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]