British Columbia: Auditor General’s Report Exhorts British Columbians to Address Cumulative Effects Management ‘ Without Delay’

The Office of the Auditor General of British Columbia published two reports that emphasize the importance of managing the cumulative environment effects for sustainable natural resource development.

The first report outlines nine recommendations to encourage the management of resource development projects on a regional basis, as opposed to a sector-by-sector or project-by-project basis. Currently, the BC government is actively applying its cumulative effects framework in the Northeast, Thompson-Okanagan and Cariboo regions, and has plans to extend it throughout the North and into specific areas like the Elk Valley and Howe Sound.

 

The second report is a followup from the 2011 audit of the Environmental Assessment Office oversight of certified projects. Major projects such as mines or power plants must be considered for an environmental assessment prior to their development. This assessment weighs not only the potential environmental effects of the project, but its potential economic, social, heritage and health effects as well.