Performance Reporting

Goal 2: Maintain and restore the ecological diversity of fish and wildlife species and their habitats.

Core Business Area: Environmental Stewardship

The following table summarizes the 2003 – 2004 operating expenses by objective.

Objective 1: Clear strategies and legislation to protect and restore species and their habitats.

This objective, which is key to attaining Goal 2, reflects the ministry's intent to provide certainty for people who must comply with ministry regulations by clearly identifying expectations and required results. To attain this objective, the ministry is focusing on reducing regulatory requirements to implement results-based stewardship; providing clear guidelines and standards for appropriate protection and conservation of species and habitats on Crown land outside the protected area system; and developing an action plan for managing and conserving species and their habitats.

Performance Measures:

Number of nationally listed species at risk being addressed by recovery teams

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The number of nationally listed species at risk being addressed by recovery teams is a measure that will enable the ministry to track its progress toward meeting requirements under the National Accord on the Protection of Species at Risk (the Accord). Putting recovery teams in place in partnership with the federal government, First Nations, local governments, industry and other stakeholders, is a key role of ministry regional and headquarters staff in working toward the desired outcome of protecting species at risk. These teams provide the mechanism through which recovery plans for the species are developed.

Achievements and Key Issues

The ministry's target is to have recovery teams in place for all listed species at risk. The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) meets at least once a year to discuss and evaluate the status of Canadian species and adjust the list of species in the different "risk" categories. As of March 31, 2004, COSEWIC's list includes 151 species in British Columbia, with 119 of the listed species currently being addressed by recovery teams. Of the 32 species not being addressed by teams, 26 are listed as special concern and do not require recovery teams. The federal government is responsible for leading recovery planning for the six remaining species.

Future Direction

This measure is not included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. The ministry is attempting to reduce its performance measures to focus on a smaller number of key outcome measures. However, this measure remains an important ministry output for management purposes.

Number of protected areas with approved management direction

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The protected areas network is an integral part of British Columbia's strategy to protect the province's ecological diversity and to enable people to visit and enjoy nature. Protected areas have become an important part of land use planning, contributing to the maintenance of habitats, species and genetic diversity, as well as providing economic opportunities related to tourism and recreation. The management planning program of the Environmental Stewardship Division consists of purpose statements, management direction statements and management plans that provide both long-term vision and guidance for the day-to-day stewardship, management and development of protected areas.

This performance measure was developed to provide an indication of the ministry's progress in having the information required to conserve habitat in the protected areas system, while identifying areas suitable for increased tourism activities.

Achievements and Key Issues

The target was for approved management direction to be provided for a total of 582 protected areas at the end of 2003/04. This was based on a need to make progress in this area while balancing other business area priorities. Meeting this target required completion of the plans for 35 protected areas that were needed to achieve the 2002/03 target, as well as for an additional 27 protected areas. This and the confirmation of boundaries had been an area of increased effort in recent years. The target was exceeded, with 609 of 817 protected areas (75%) having approved management direction in place as of March 31, 2004.

Future Direction

The ministry is working on improvements to its already extensive network of protected areas. Legislative amendments to both the Protected Areas of British Columbia Act and the Park Act were passed in the spring of 2004. These amendments will add more than 150,000 hectares to British Columbia's protected area system, an area 13 times the size of the city of Vancouver. The new legislation will establish 28 new class A parks and one ecological reserve and add to four existing ecological reserves and 31 class A parks. This will mean more opportunities for visitors and may provide more tourism opportunities for communities.

This measure is not included in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. The ministry is attempting to reduce its performance measures to focus on a smaller number of key outcome measures. However, this measure remains an important ministry output for which data is readily available at minimal cost. It will continue to be used for internal management purposes.

An appropriate measure relating to environmental standards for the Forest and Range Practices Act

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) was passed in 2002 and is to be fully implemented by December 2005. The FRPA is a results-based regime under which government will set clear standards for a wide variety of forest values, and forest companies will be accountable for being consistent with these standards. Management regarding a number of the forest values included under the FRPA is the responsibility of this ministry. Since this is a critical piece of legislation for protecting and restoring species and their habitats, it is important that ministry progress in establishing environmental standards under the FRPA be measured.

Achievements and Key Issues

The 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan stated that an appropriate measure relating to environmental standards for the Forest and Range Practices Act (FRPA) would be developed in 2003/04. The specific focus for this performance measure was identified in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. The ministry is piloting an output measure to demonstrate its progress in establishing designations and objectives for fish, wildlife and water quality under the authority of the FRPA. This measure will indicate the ministry's progress in setting results-based environmental standards informed by science under the FRPA, which will be critical to attaining the desired environmental outcomes.

Initially, the ministry will assess its progress by monitoring designations of wildlife habitat areas (WHA) and ungulate winter ranges (UWR). As of March 31, 2003, there were 129 WHA designations approved (covering 44,233 hectares) and no UWR. In 2003/04, an additional 31 WHA were designated, for a total of 160 (covering 49,120 hectares), and the first 15 UWR were designated (covering 913,462 hectares).

Future Direction

The ministry will continue working to establish designations and objectives in all areas for which the ministry has responsibility under the FRPA. The ministry will also work to develop a long-term outcome measure and acquire trend data. Once the designations are established, the ministry's focus will be on monitoring and reporting.

Objective 2: Improved use of science for the development of standards and for effective monitoring and reporting.

Improving the use of science is a key component in the ministry's work toward attaining Goal 2. Work is being undertaken simultaneously in a number of areas, including improving access to scientific information to support approaches to ecological diversity; tracking species and habitats and their responses to management actions; developing standards and an assessment process to support an approach to the protection of fish habitat in urban areas; and working with partners to develop environmental standards for the Forest and Range Practices Act.

Performance Measure:

The percentage of known native species that are threatened or endangered in the province

Rationale for the Performance Measure

The ministry is using an outcome measure of the percentage of known native species that are threatened or endangered in the province to track its progress in achieving this objective. Measures of species at risk are used nationally and internationally to indicate the status of ecological diversity, which is a commonly used indicator of environmental sustainability.

Achievements and Key Issues

The base data is from a federal government report that was published for the first time using 2000 data. The next report is to be published in 2006 using 2005 data. Tremendous progress has been made in recent years to compile information on wild species, but considerable challenges remain to expand, improve and update the information. Also, as indicated above, the ministry has recovery teams in place for all COSEWIC-listed species for which the province is responsible and is working with partners to develop and implement recovery plans.

Performance measure results from different years cannot be readily compared because the number and percentage of species that are threatened or endangered fluctuate based on several factors that are unrelated to the rate at which species are actually becoming threatened or endangered. For example, the rate at which COSEWIC has been adding species to its lists in recent years reflects the rate at which it is able to examine species rather than the rate at which species are becoming at risk.

Future Direction

Under the Accord, provincial, territorial and federal wildlife agencies are committed to an ongoing and comprehensive process for wild species assessment and monitoring. The ministry will increase the number and variety of species it assesses, and will periodically re-assess these species, addressing any data gaps it identifies. Currently, not all species have been assessed and appropriate sub-species classifications have not been confirmed, thus considerable work is left to do in this area. The ministry will also continue working toward recovering currently listed at-risk species. A challenge is that there is often a time lag between when an action is taken and when its impact is reflected in the data.

The ministry amended the Wildlife Act in the spring of 2004 to enhance the government's ability to designate and protect species at risk in British Columbia. The amendments will authorize the province, by Order-in-Council, to list and protect any species or population (animal, bird, fish or plant, etc.) as required to provide additional protection and management capability. These amendments will reinforce the province's authority regarding species and provide additional tools for protecting and recovering species. Decision-making will take into account the specific needs of species, be informed by science and consider socio-economic factors.

Objective 3: Increased number of partnerships to conserve species and their habitats.

This objective addresses the ministry's shift from being sole protector of the environment to promoting a shared stewardship approach. Partnerships will be a crucial mechanism in the achievement of this goal. The ministry will be working to establish and maintain relationships with other provincial agencies and levels of government, First Nations, communities, academia and environmental organizations to undertake activities to conserve species and habitats and to provide standards, guidelines and best management practices to private landowners to develop and implement sustainable stewardship practices.

Performance Measure:

Number and value of partnerships

Rationale for the Performance Measure

Given that partnerships will be a crucial mechanism for a shared-stewardship approach to protecting the environment, the ministry has developed a measure to monitor its progress in establishing these important relationships. The 2003/04 – 2005/06 Service Plan indicated that performance under this objective would be assessed using a measure of the "number and value of partnerships" and would be further developed in 2003/04.

Achievements and Key Issues

The specific focus for this performance measure was identified in the 2004/05 – 2006/07 Service Plan. Initially, the ministry is focusing on measuring its progress in the specific area of establishing collaborative management plans with First Nations. This is an important type of partnership through which the ministry is providing a significant role to First Nations for making recommendations for protected area management. There are currently 14 collaborative management plans in place.

Future Direction

The ministry has several other stewardship partnerships in place and is working to develop more. It is difficult to identify an aggregate measure of the extent to which all established partnerships are appropriate or of how effectively they produce the intended results and contribute to desired outcomes. The ministry may consider evaluating the effectiveness of individual partnerships to monitor progress.