The South Coast Conservation Program put on a one-day species-at-risk "Toward Solutions That Work" seminar in Burnaby today. There were a number of interesting speakers in the morning, followed by a planning exercise in the afternoon. I found it to be a very useful session, with a broad range of participants from municipal governments, the provincial and federal levels, and NGOs.
The planning exercise was eye-opening. Each table was given an air photo of an area that had three creeks running through it and extensive forested areas, with some development encroachment. Our task was to design in development for several thousand residents and some commercial facilities, while providing for several species at risk that depended on the existing ecosystem.
Needless to say we all came up with wonderful plans, only to see what really happened. The air photo had been taken in 1948 of an area in Coquitlam that was eventually 98% paved over and developed. Very sad.
The heartening aspect was that at least we discuss preserving urban biodiversity these days. Sustainability was not even on the table 30 or 40 years ago.
Posted by Paul at January 16, 2007 07:23 PM