The bureaucracy and the coastal zone : conflict resolution in offshore hydrocarbon development in British Columbia
Date
1983
Authors
Chamberlain, Paul Geoffrey
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Abstract
The importance of the coastal zone, and the need to regulate it effectively, have been the subject of a growing debate in Canada for several years. However, conflicts between competing users in this region continue to become more serious. Typical of these problems on the west coast are the congestion and pollution associated with onshore expansion, particularly along the major coastal estuaries; the gradual depletion of the coastal fishery; and the growing concern over the siting of energy facilities. The prospect of a resumption in offshore petroleum development during this decade threatens to intensify these conflicts still further.
Traditionally, one of the most important actors in the decision making process in the coastal zone has been government itself, particularly the bureaucracy. However, relatively little research has been undertaken on this specific component of government in its relationship to coastal zone management along the west coast. In order to examine this particular institutional dimension more thoroughly, a detailed analysis of a specific case study in offshore petroleum development in British Columbia was undertaken.
The study began with a detailed review of the literature of coastal zone management and, since this topic also involved a specific component of the decision making process within government, a careful review of the literature of administrative behaviour. After this preliminary study, a detailed perusal of both the past and the possible future role of the west coast in offshore hydrocarbon development was undertaken, together with a brief summary of the jurisdictional division of power over natural resource management in Canada.
Interviews were conducted with representatives of each provincial and federal agency that was identified as having a potential significant role to play in any future offshore drilling program in this region. Many more agencies were identified as having a peripheral involvement; these agencies have been categorized and listed. The results of these interviews provided the necessary information to analyze the pertinent administrative characteristics of each level of government more thoroughly and the results were synthesized further in the conclusion.
The findings of this thesis indicate that a large number of provincial and federal agencies are currently involved in the preliminary planning stages of offshore hydrocarbon development in this region. Although intergovernmental contact at the operational level of the bureaucracy was not as widespread as was initially predicted during the period that this research was being conducted, there was, nevertheless, a clear indication that certain lead agencies have been established to coordinate activities within both levels of government and most public servants agreed that greater inter-governmental cooperation would, inevitably, be required in the future. In addition to these findings, significant variations were found in both the quality and the quantity of expertise within the bureaucracy on matters pertaining to offshore hydrocarbon development and, furthermore, each level of government also displayed important variations in the degree of bureau cooperation and bureau conflict, both within each level of government and between each level of government.
In terms of the future of the coastal zone in Canada, there was a unanimous consensus among all levels of government that no single agency could be dominant in the decision making process, especially in offshore petroleum development and that the "sectoral" approach to regulation would most likely continue. However, it was noted that this form of management has tended traditionally to be an ex post facto response to conflict resolution and the possibility of specific institutional adjustments, in the form of a coastal zone commission, was discussed.