CALGARY,
AB - After years of delays, the Alberta government has dismissed the no-net-loss
recommendation of its own advisory group and is proposing a complex
wetland policy that risks the permanent loss of thousands of hectares
of wetlands.
Alberta
Environment Minister Rob Renner confirmed the shift today to a group of
stakeholders in Calgary.
This
flies in the face of the recommendations made by the government-supported
multi-stakeholder group, the Alberta Water Council, which clearly recommended
Alberta adopt a no-net-loss policy for wetlands — a policy that would mean for
every hectare of wetland lost to development such as oilsands mining, at least
one other hectare would be restored.
"We were
incredibly disappointed to see the government taking a step backwards with this
policy direction and weakening the current policy to allow for loss of
wetlands," said Joe Obad, co-director of Water Matters. "The Alberta Water Council had a great
process in which members of the team worked for three years to come up with
trade-offs that everyone could live with — and the government has ignored
that."
While
Alberta still has no province-wide wetland policy, a no-net-loss policy for
wetlands has been used in settled portions of Alberta since 1993, and is
considered the strongest and most effective way to protect wetlands.
No-net-loss is used in jurisdictions around the world including the United
States, which has been taking a growing interest in the environmental impacts
of oilsands development.
Despite the support of 23 industry, environmental and community sectors, the
recommendation was blocked by only two stakeholders — the Alberta Chamber of Resources and the Canadian
Association of Petroleum Producers, both representing the
oilsands industry — who claimed a no-net-loss approach was cost
prohibitive, without presenting any evidence publicly to support this claim.
"Alberta appears to have caved in to lobbying by the oilsands sector, which
argues that this is too expensive, while our numbers show that full replacement
of wetlands could cost very little of what the companies spend to produce a barrel
of oil," said Carolyn Campbell of the Alberta Wilderness Association. In a 2007 public consultation, 90 per
cent of total respondents, including 79 per cent of industry respondents,
agreed with a proposed policy to "maintain or increase wetland area in
Alberta."
Alberta's oilsands mines are projected to destroy 56,000 hectares of wetlands by 2025. In situ wetland
destruction is unknown, but much could be avoided by a no-net-loss wetland
policy.
"With this new watered-down wetland protection plan, the government's
credibility as an environmental manager in the oilsands is further damaged,"
said Terra Simieritsch, Policy Analyst with the Pembina Institute.
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Contact:
Joe Obad
Associate Director, Water Matters
403-585-5826
Carolyn Campbell
Conservation Specialist, Alberta Wilderness Association
403-921-9519
Terra Simieritsch
Technical and Policy Analyst, Oilsands, Pembina Institute
403-269-3344 ext 102
