1

Land Use Planning in Alberta: An Overview

Biol. 595Sept. 16, 2009

2

1930:• National Parks Act

1948-1949: • Green Zone

• AB Forest Service

• Forests Act

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990

Year

Harv

est

(mil

lio

n m3 )

Volume of forest harvested in Alberta, 1930-1999

AWR

1820

19

917

16

14 13

12

11

10

8

75

4 3

1

2

WBNP

6 *

1 Alpac2 AB Newsprint3 Blue Ridge4 Canfor5 Daishowa6 GAP*7 Manning*8 Millar Western9 Sundance10 Sunpine11 Tolko-HLFP12 Tolko -HP13 Slave Lake P*14 Slave Lake P15 Vanderwell16 WFP -G. P.17 WFP-D.V.18 WFP-Edson19 WFP-S.L.20 Weldwood

*Proposed

White Zone

Forest Management Areas

Number of wells drilled per year in Alberta, 1990-2005

0

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

1990 1995 2000 2005

WellsitesWellsites

Petroleum Sector Footprint

Untitled

Page 6

0 50 100 150 200

Simulated Years into Future

1:

1:

1:

0

500000

1000000

F Class km[Transport]: 1 -

Untitled

Page 6

0 50 100 150 200

Simulated Years into Future

1:

1:

1:

0

500000

1000000

F Class km[Transport]: 1 -

11

1

1

1900 1950 2000 2050 2100

Year

<---Historical Backcast--->20th Century

<--Projected Simulation-->21st Century

Transportation Sector

0 200K 800K

km

Transportation length

Remaining Intact Forest

Remaining Intact Forest by Province

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

21%

Global Forest Watch – Sept. 15, 2003

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

95

100

1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003

Year

Po

pu

lati

on

Ch

an

ge %

East Athabasca Caribou Herd

Land Use Conflicts: MinimalLand Use Conflicts: Minimal

Energy

Agriculture

Forestry

Residential

Mining

Recreation

Native Landscape

1950

Land Use Conflicts: SeriousLand Use Conflicts: Serious

Energy

Agriculture Forestry

Residential

Mining

Recreation

Native Landscape

Today

14

Maximize the rate of economic development

Mitigate environmental damage

Source: Pembina, 2005

What is Success?

Alberta GDP

Statistics Canada, 2007

Alberta Family Income(Inflation-adjusted)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

Year

Do

llars

(th

ou

san

ds)

0.65

0.85

1.05

1.25

1.45

1.65

1961

1963

1965

1967

1969

1971

1973

1975

1977

1979

1981

1983

1985

1987

1989

1991

1993

1995

1997

1999

Ind

ex, 1

971=

1.00

GDP Index

GPI Economic Index

GPI Social Index

GPI Environmental Index

Gross Domestic Product Index

GPI Economic Index

GPI Social Index

GPI Environmental Index

Year

Ind

exGenuine Progress Indices

(GPI)

Source: Anielski et. al. 2001

Existing Philosophy: Open Frontier

Energy

Forestry

Residential

Recreation

Agriculture

Mining

Reality: Finite Landscape

Energy

Forestry

Residential

Recreation

Agriculture

Mining

Environment SRD Energy

“There are more and more people doing more and more activities on the same piece of land. The competition between user groups creates conflict, and often puts stress on the finite capacity of our land, air, water and habitat.”

“We have reached a tipping point, where sticking with the old rules will not produce the quality of life we have come to expect.”

EconomicSustainability

Environmental Sustainability

Social Sustainability

Outcome-Based ManagementOutcome-Based Management

Triple Bottom LineTriple Bottom Line

EverythingEverywhereAll of the time

Natural Limits & Trade-off Decisions

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Integrated RegionalPlanning

Today’sActions

Tomorrow’sLandscapes

ComputerModeling

Achievable Future