This thesis examines the role of environmental non-government organizations in
relation to the role and responsibility of government for wetland conservation in British
Columbia. The role of a small community-based environmental organization called the
Burns Bog Conservation Society in decisions about Burns Bog, a large privately-owned
wetland located in the Lower Mainland, is analyzed.
Drawing from a broad range of literature on environmentalism and conservation, the
thesis begins with an historical account of the environmental movement, giving a broad
view of environmental conservation and the role of environmental organizations. A
typology of roles and analytical framework is subsequently derived from a study of
environmental non-government organizations involved in managing water resources in
British Columbia's Fraser River Basin.
Three main roles, advocacy, supplemental and transformative, are discussed as they
relate to activities prior to and during the Burns Bog Analysis, a provincially established
land use study of Burns Bog. This research found that a small community-based
environmental organization, through advocacy, can ensure that ecological integrity is
not neglected as a result of poor planning and decision-making. The case study
demonstrates that a small environmental organization can pressure governments to
broaden their view of land-use and environmental issues, assuring more informed
decision-making. An environmental organization can also supplement the regular roles
and responsibilities of government, first by supplying a service that government is
unable or unwilling to provide, and second by participating in and legitimizing
consensus-based decision-making processes. The case study demonstrates how a
small environmental organization can provide and review information and participate in
creating options and solutions in land-use decisions. Finally, an environmental
organization can influence, overtime, the fundamental restructuring of government planning and decision-making processes and transform the way society thinks and
operates.
The thesis concludes that environmental non-government organizations have an
important role to play in ensuring the recognition and conservation of British Columbia's
wetlands in government planning and decision-making processes; in informing and
educating government and the public about ecological systems and their values; and in
counter-balancing strong economic, political and development interests.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/4027 |
| Date | 11 1900 |
| Creators | Delesalle, Bruno P. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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