Alberta Land Stewardship: Biodiversity Offsets as a Component of Land-use Planning

Vic Adamowicz, Research Director, ALI Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology

University of Alberta

Thanks to Tom Goddard, Marian Weber and Warren Noga for Comments and Slides

Overview • Alberta Context

• Land Use Framework / Opportunities • Land Use Challenges

• Boreal, Wetlands / Prairie, Grassland • Programs, Pilots and Initiatives

• Reflections on Offsets in the Alberta Context • Scarcity and Ecosystem Services • Summary

www.landman.ca/landman_support/land_use/ Map%20handout.pdf

Land Use Planning - Governance • Provincial

• Land Use Framework; Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) • Pilots, Market Based Instruments (offsets) • Institute for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment (?)

• Regional Plans • Cumulative Effects; • Guidance; Triggers / Thresholds;

• New Wetlands Policy • “Ratios”; Delivery Agents

• Federal • DFO • Environment Canada • SARA • NEB

International Think Tank on Market-Based Instruments to Preserve, Support and Enhance Ecological Goods and Services Vic Adamowicz

Department of Rural Economy University of Alberta

Institute for Agriculture, Forestry and the Environment

The IAFE’s mandate is to catalyze and coordinate the development of a policy framework that harness market forces to improve environmental performance in the renewable resource sector. It has four strategic mandate areas:

1. Develop a Conservation and Stewardship Strategy 2. Market-Based Approaches for Environmental

Stewardship 3. Documenting Environmental Integrity 4. Innovation

Alberta: Regional Plans Regional Plans Will: 1. Reflect the vision, principles and outcomes of the Land-use Framework 2. Define regional outcomes (economic, environmental and social) and a broad plan for land and natural resource use for public and private lands within the region 3. Align provincial strategies and policies at the regional level 4. Consider the input from First Nations and Metis communities, stakeholders, and the public 5. Determine specific trade-offs and appropriate land and natural resource management for specific landscapes within a region 6. Define the cumulative effects management approach for the region and identify targets and thresholds 7. Provide direction and context for local plans within the region 8. Recognize the authority and role of municipalities in local decision-making 9. Be approved by Cabinet, thereby becoming government land-use policies for the regions 10. Will be subject to regular reviews and public reporting: every five years – plan updates and reports on implementation; every ten years: complete plan reviews (Source AB LUF, Pg 26.)

Emerging Partnerships and Experience • Partnerships • Industry / NGO Network • South East Alberta Conservation Offsets Pilot • Research (AI-Family; ALI; etc.) • Monitoring (ABMI, etc.)

• Experience • Carbon Offsets • Wetlands • Alberta Conservation Association • South East Alberta Conservation Offset Pilot • Water Trading

Pressures • Boreal

• Cumulative Effects • Energy, Forestry, Climate Change • Caribou, Wetlands

• Grasslands • Cumulative Effects • Multi-SAR • Energy. Agriculture

• Wetlands • Historical trends • Development

www.landman.ca/landman_support/land_use/ Map%20handout.pdf

Source: Environment Canada, 2011, Page 5

http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/8042.pdf

ASRD and ACA 2010

Woodland Caribou in Alberta

Net Present Value Map: Schneider et al Conservation Biology 2010

Objectives? • Biodiversity / “Habitat”

• Disturbance • Representation • Linear Features • Intactness • Dynamics

• Caribou Populations • Growth rate (“lambda” and “habitat lambda”) • Density (historical density?) • Strategies (predator control, reclamation, etc.) • Location • Timing

• Public Land

“White Zone” (Prairie) Issues • Wetlands Conservation • Grasslands Conservation • Human Population Increases • Land Use Dynamics

• Fragmentation and conversion of agricultural land

• Energy Development • Potential Irrigation Expansion • Species at Risk Concerns

Biodiversity risks on agricultural lands, Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex10342

Species at Risk in Alberta http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex10337

Qiu et al, 2013.

Qiu et al, 2013.

Wetlands

• History of wetlands loss – Drainage, urban expansion, land conversion, farming efficiencies

• Prairie Canada (1985 – 2001) 5% net wetland area lost • Alberta (1985-2001) 5% net wetland area lost, 7% in

mixed grasslands and aspen parkland ecosystems (Watmough and Schmoll, 2007)

• Variety of mechanism proposed to retain or restore wetlands – “No Net Loss” and offset programs – Reverse Auctions

• New Alberta Wetlands Policy

Source: Alberta Wetland Policy. 2013, Page 19

DUC: Revolving Land Purchase Program

Source: http://www.ducks.ca/what-we-do/your-land/prairie-programs/rlp/

Grassland • Species at Risk • Habitat • Working Landscape

• Agriculture, Energy, Municipalities

• Property Rights • South Saskatchewan

Regional Plan • South East Alberta

Conservation Offset Pilot

Critique (survey responses, analysis) • Frameworks

• Landscape objectives versus “project based” • Regulatory clarity • Public versus private land

• Providing market signals for ecosystem services • What’s the service? (caribou?) • Efficiency concerns

• Cost effectiveness • Transactions costs / learning • Multiple services (multiple policies?) • Crowding out

• Permanence • Challenging in current climate • But possibilities exist (DUC RLP)

• Evolution of program • Requirement for formal program evaluation

Conclusions • Scarcity / Urgency • Considerable experience and interest • Governance / regulatory base • Research support / capacity • Willingness to learn / innovate • Key challenges

• Regulatory push (private land, public land) • Framework

• Recognize need to meet environmental goal, and efficiency goal • Wealth creation?

• Recognize evolutionary nature of programs • Learning by doing, program evaluation