Assessing the political and institutional arrangements for the British Columbia coastal sand and gravel industry
Date
1984
Authors
Manni, E. Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The political and institutional arrangements governing the development and use of coastal resources are characterized by a complex pattern of agencies and organizations that establish and implement a variety of laws, legislation and regulations. The form and structure by which the arrangements have evolved and function affect their operations and performance. In order to improve our understanding of the way in which the organizational structure and political processes interact, the coastal sand and gravel industry in British Columbia is examined.
The study identified thirteen federal and provincial agencies and a myriad of regional and local governments involved in the governance process. The essence of the institutional arrangements is the size of the government units, the multiplicity of agencies and laws and the interdependencies among them. In order to help explain the relationship among these variables in the process, two concepts are advanced - the traditional concept of the resource problem and the alternative concept of governance problems. The theoretical structures implicit in both concepts are isolated and a set of seven criteria are developed to assess the operations of the arrangements and consider which concept provides a relatively better explanation of the coastal sand and gravel industry.
The study examined the permit application and regulatory operations of the political and institutional arrangements, identifying the functions of the agencies and the interactions among them. Baseline data for describing and assessing the operations was collected from the appropriate agencies and local governments, the coastal sand and gravel operators and three coastal newspapers.
Although the assessment indicated three weaknesses within the arrangements, as a whole, the system was found to work quite well. The study disclosed a high degree of coordination for permit applications and resolution of violations among the agencies, flexibility within the system regarding duplicate regulations, adaptability towards jurisdictional overlap and accessibility and scrutiny by the public. Overall, the study concluded that the coastal sand and gravel industry is best explained by the theoretical structure implicit in the alternative concept of governance problems.
The implications of this study are twofold. First, the identified procedural weaknesses require further investigation into their actual effect on resource use and development before changes can be proposed. Second, in a broader sense, the study identified key variables and their interrelationships and attempted to develop and advance a conceptual framework in order to assess and understand the complexity of political and institutional arrangements.
Description
Keywords
UN SDG 14: Life Below Water