Effective Planning and Implementation of Ecological Rehabilitation Projects: A Case Study of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) |
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Authors: | SOONYA P Quon LARRY R G MARTIN STEPHEN D MURPHY |
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Institution: | (1) School of Planning, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada, CA;(2) Department of Environment and Resource Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada, CA |
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Abstract: | The literature guides environmental planning and, specifically, how to use ecological rehabilitation projects to achieve long-term
planning goals and landscape-scale environmental sustainability. There is, however, a perceived gap between principles in
the literature and the use of them by practitioners involved in smaller-scale ecological rehabilitation projects. Using interviews
with practitioners involved in 11 projects within the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, we tested whether
practitioners used five principles for effective planning and implementation of ecological rehabilitation that we derived
from the literature. These five principles were: establishing political and ecological context, using ecologically appropriate
objectives and practices, using comparative multidisciplinary and cross-scale approaches, using adaptive planning and implementation,
and establishing good communication within and external to projects. Few projects followed all five principles, and practitioners
indicated that they used three more project-specific principles: obtaining political/social support, promoting projects and
changing attitudes about projects, and securing sufficient and persistent funding to maintain a project's life. While the
literature emphasizes that ecological rehabilitation is only effective if projects are coordinated on a watershed basis, most
practitioners focused solely on the goals of their specific project. The gap between literature and practice may arise because
most practitioners are new to the field of ecological rehabilitation and still are focused on the methods involved. Time pressures
force practitioners to obviate the literature and get projects started quickly, lest support evaporate. Complicating these
difficulties is decreased support from federal and provincial governments for large-scale environmental planning. It is unclear
whether ecological rehabilitation projects in Waterloo Region (at least) will ever become effective at promoting landscape-scale
ecological goals or remain smaller-scale stop-gaps. |
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Keywords: | : Ecological rehabilitation Environmental planning Landscape scale Local scale Practitioners Watershed planning |
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