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New Brunswick • Protected Areas • Lands and Regulations • Issues & AdvocacyThis data was accurate as of April 2008.
Page Index
Land
description: The land and fresh water area of New Brunswick is 7,290,800 hectares with the land only area being 7,145,000 hectares. Approximately 50% of land in New Brunswick is Crown or public with the remaining 50% being private. There are two National Parks covering a total of 44,600 hectares. The province has 63 sites covering approximately 205,000 hectares, including 30 Class I and Class II protected areas covering approximately 152,000 hectares, and 21 recreational provincial parks. In New Brunswick, national parks, provincial parks, and some conservation areas allow complete protection, with both the Class I and Class II sites having no industrial uses. Other areas such as wildlife refuges and management areas, nature reserves, migratory bird sanctuaries, municipal parks and private protected areas are managed for various values and permitted activities. The Province has 7 ecoregions, based on features such as soil type, elevation and climate, as designated habitat types.
Brief History: (prior to initiation of land use plan and
development) In 1994, the Whitehorse Mining Initiative was signed to provide a strategic vision for a healthy mining industry in the context of maintaining healthy and diverse ecosystems in Canada. Among other things it called for establishing an ecologically based system of protected areas. Representatives of five sectors agreed to participate. They were the mining industry, senior governments, labour unions, Aboriginal peoples, and the environmental community. A report from the Land Access Issue group was released in 1994. In 1992, New Brunswick began the development of a Protected Areas Strategy with the signing of the National Forest Strategy, to establish a road network of protected natural areas by 2000. The Protected Area initiative was started by a report by Dr. Louis Lapierre in March 1997 commissioned by the Department of Natural Resources and Energy (DNRE). The Protected Area Strategy Report recommended identification of areas that represented all of the features of the province’s seven natural regions with approximately 150,000ha being set aside for protection. In 1998, the Department of Natural Resources and Energy commissioned Dr. Louis Lapierre to lead the development of a comprehensive Protected Areas Strategy for New Brunswick.
Process of Development/Consultation Type: There are three working groups involved in the consultation and selection process for New Brunswick’s protected natural areas. The Local Advisory Committee advises the DNRE Minister on the management of protected natural areas, the Scientific Advisory Committee provides site specific data, and the Provincial Advisory Committee, consisting of provincial interest groups with representatives from mining and other sectors, non-government organizations, First Nations and DNR representatives provides input. All committee members are appointed by the Minister. The standards of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) were to be used for defining protected areas in New Brunswick. In 2000, 1.4% of its land was protected under this classification. The proposed areas would add another 2.1%. In 2000, approximately 20% of Crown land was managed for wildlife habitat objectives.
PAS Implementation and Candidate Protected Area selection
process: The Protected Areas Stakeholders’ Committee acknowledged the need to set aside one protected area for each ecoregion in NB and examined the ten sites proposed by Dr. Lapierre in this context. The Committee was successful in achieving the goal of leaving all existing mining claims out of the proposed areas, and areas of significant mineral potential (based on existing knowledge) were also excluded. A total of 157,158ha were proposed in ten sites with some areas remaining available for wood harvest until 2012. The new Protected Natural Areas (PNA) Act was introduced in December 2002 to provide a more comprehensive legislation to manage and administer the province’s entire network of protected natural areas. Two classes of protected natural areas were created with Class I being restrictive for total protection and conservation. In a Class II protected natural area, conservation is the main objective, but some recreational activities will be allowed. All industrial uses will be prohibited in both area classes. The original twenty conservation areas and ecological reserves are considered Class I, whereas the ten new protected natural areas are Class II.
Results: In October 1999, the government announced the interim protection of Crown land located in eight of the proposed sites recommended in Dr. Lapierre’s final report, and placed a moratorium on timber harvesting in six of the sites. In 1999, the province acquired 156,000ha from Georgia-Pacific Resins Inc. Conservation projects in 1999 were sponsored by DNRE using Environmental Trust Funds, including fostering private land stewardship in conserving ecologically significant sites. In May 2001 the New Brunswick government officially adopted the Protected Areas Strategy and announced ten new protected natural areas for a total of 143,000ha as Class II sites, representing 2% of New Brunswick’s land base. These ten areas received legislation in 2003. An extensive network of trail systems has also been established in New Brunswick. In total, approximately 738,000ha of Crown Land and 56,000ha of private land are being managed for a variety of conservation purposes, but no all areas prohibit development. In total, approximately 738,000ha of Crown land and 56,000ha of private land are being managed for a variety of conservation purposes, but not all areas are protected from development.
First Nations Land Claim Settlements: First Nations were invited to participate in the stakeholder committee for the PAS but chose not to take part in this process. The Committee recognizes that treaty and aboriginal rights must be respected and honoured. The Union of New Brunswick Indians (UNBI) have created an Aboriginal Natural Resources Committee to monitor, assess and advise on the development and use of natural resources (including all renewable and non-renewable resources) in NB. Part of the responsibility of this committee will be to explore and monitor development and conservation and to develop liaison opportunities with companies and governments and monitor all regulatory processes governing the development and exploration for natural resources.
Post-completion and On-Going issues:
Government Departments, Agencies and Legislation, for further
information: Protected Areas Strategy for New Brunswick www.elements.nb.ca/theme/pa/louis/louis.htm
Natural Resources (Minerals and Energy Branch) www.gnb.ca/0078/minerals/
Tourism and Parks www.gnb.ca/0397/
Non-governmental organizationss
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