Land-use Planning Policies Research Articles

Conservation of Polar Bear Pass, Bathurst Island, and the Emerging Comprehensive Conservation Policy for Northern Canada

During 1975 to 1984, a particularly divisive debate accompanied proposals to conserve Polar Bear Pass, NWT. Virtually all interests that participated in the debate supported a more comprehensive approach towards conservation of natural areas than had hitherto prevailed, and criticized the ad hoc manner in which conservation proposals were being handled by the Federal Government of Canada.Chastened by the experience with Polar Bear Pass, and suffering land-use allocation problems in many locations, the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development responded with a Northern Land-use Planning Policy (Diand, 1981a, 1981b), and is now developing a comprehensive conservation policy.Future conservation reserves in northern Canada are likely to be established as a result of regional land-use planning. It is important, however, that conservation of natural areas in both Territories support northern political development and devolution of resource management authority to northern governments, and settlement of landclaims made by native peoples.

Planning effective industrial liquid waste controls in developing nations

The environmental planning principles described in this study address a problem which many developing nations face at some point along their industrialization process; alarming levels of water pollution, and limited background, expertize and organization to combat it effectively.A rapid pollution assessment methodology has been recently developed [1], [2], [3] enabling such countries to conduct valuable waste source inventories within reasonable time, with few people and little support. The present study describes how to use such inventory data in order to derive high priority waste control measures, formulate an effective national strategy for industrial waste control, organize meaningful industrial effluent survey and water monitoring programs, as well as lay down a rational land-use planning policy for industrial expansion.

Towards Comprehensive Conservation of Environmentally Significant Areas in the Northwest Territories of Canada

A wide legislative base is available to conserve Environmentally Significant Areas in the vast Northwest Territories of Canada. However, existing conservation reserves have been designated in an ‘incremental’ fashion, without reference to a guiding plan. Intensive industrialization through hydrocarbon development and increased harvesting of renewable resources are threats to the integrity of many ESAs.An anticipatory and comprehensive policy to conserve Environmentally Significant Areas (ESAs) in advance of industrialization is required, but developing such a policy will be difficult, owing to the complex political and jurisdictional ‘environments’ in northern Canada. Despite these problems, the recently announced Northern Landuse Planning Policy could be a vehicle for the implementation of a comprehensive conservation policy for ESAs, if only the institutional structures and processes that will accompany this policy are adequately designed.

Environmental geology of the santander bay area, northern Spain

The Santander Bay area on the north coast of Spain has been selected for a study comparing its environmental geology features with the resource capability, and present land and water use. The environmental geologic map of the Santander Bay area consists of 53 environmental units grouped into six major environmental systems.Systems are process-defined, whereasunits are defined according to active processes, landform, physical properties of the materials, biologic assemblages, and man's influence. In each case the feature considered to be of first-order environmental significance is used to define the unit, but all other features are included in its description. With the information available at present, only qualitative characterization of the units has been possible. Capability or carrying capacity of the environmental units has been evaluated and mapped in relation to 21 types of human activity, derived from different land-use practices. The evaluation is by a matrix. Capability of the units is a consequence of their properties, but no capability judgments are implied in the definition of the units. It is convenient to distinguish between activities which are harmful for the environment if carried out on a certain unit and activities for which certain units might be unsuitable or hazardous to man. Some of the present land-use practices are in conflict with the natural capability of the units. Particularly threatened is the bay-estuarine system, especially the marshes and intertidal areas. From the data presented, information pertinent to land-use planning can be obtained, especially about units which are adequate for waste disposal, units which should be preserved, and units suitable for construction. More precise, quantitative characterization of the environmental units should be undertaken immediately. This would make possible the formulation of land-use planning policies in accordance with the natural capability of the environment. Planning according to capability of the units will allow maximum use of the natural resources of the area with minimum environmental damage.