Coastal zone management: the Cowichan Estuary
Date
2000
Authors
Corpé, Cimarron Roy
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Abstract
This research examines planning process for coastal estuarine management. Its goal is to review a plan life cycle to identify conditions that permitted plan implementation and those that limited amendment following a review. Such factors were identified through a comparative analysis of the 1986 Cowichan Estuary Environmental Management Plan (CEEMP) and the follow-up 1995 CEEMP: Plan Review and Update (PRU). The results are based on the perspective of representative government staff and public participants involved with these processes. The specific objective was to prepare, through a case study, a plan life cycle framework for coastal estuarine management based on information:
1. cited in the literature on Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), estuary management, and environmental planning and policy;
2. cited in newspapers, government documents and correspondence; and
3. cited by government staff and public participants involved in the CEEMP processes.
The study began with a detailed review of the literature on planning, and natural resources, coastal zone and estuary management. The general themes extracted from this review suggest that coastal estuarine management planning process requires:
1. clearly defined objectives and strategies;
2. meaningful public participation facilitated by a mediator early in the planning process to reduce conflict at a later time;
3. a program to ensure a plan is administered consistently over time;
4. political will; and
5. creating a flexible plan with the capacity to incorporate amendments and new information on an ongoing basis.
The second phase of the research consisted of a review of government correspondence and letters relevant to the PRU process. This archival review gave context to the study and provided a basis for the interview questions.
Interviews were conducted with twenty-eight participants representing three levels of government, Cowichan Tribes First Nations, direct economic and non-economic interests involved with the CEEMP and/or the PRU. The semi-structured interviews were designed to solicit the participant's interpretations of the plan life cycle process. Interview tape-recordings and written notes were subjected to content analysis. Common themes or categories were extracted from transcribed text to describe the planning process. The Delphi procedure, using ranking of management issues, was applied to supplement the interviews. Collectively, this information provided a comprehensive basis for comparative analysis of the plan life cycle for the Cowichan Estuary.
While there are lessons to be learned from analysis of the CEEMP life cycle, the primary objective of balancing industrial development and environmental protection appears unsatisfactory using the existing planning framework. This can be attributed to the absence of a terms of reference, and unclear objectives, strategies and roles.
The significance of this study should be immediate in the form of support for government planners who will likely revisit this process in the near future and in the long-term as a contribution to the existing knowledge of ICZM, estuarine management, and the plan life cycle concept.