Peace in the woods: sustainability and the democratization of land use planning and resource management on Crown lands in British Columbia

Abstract

During the 1990s, the provincial government of British Columbia made the introduction of participatory processes into the land use planning and resource management of its Crown lands the central element of its attempt to defuse conflictual relationships over choices affecting the sustainability of the province's development strategies. The processes used to this end are examined, and evidence of the resulting outcomes is evaluated. As well as the planning gains associated with the switch from techno‐corporatist to consensual decision‐making for the province's publicly owned resource base, studies indicate that there will be substantial ecological benefits from zoning an additional 30% of Crown lands for enhanced protection, at little economic cost to rural industries. The new rural planning regime also offers a consensual management system capable of assimilating the tribal holdings created by the settlement of First Nation claims on Crown lands. Overall, the evidence indicates that substantial benefits have emerged from the application of procedural environmental justice to formerly highly technocratic management processes, not least of which is delivery of “peace in the woods”.