The Alberta Wilderness Association has posted the June 2018 issue of Wildlands Advocate (Volume 26, Number 2) to their website. Visit the site to download a PDF, purchase a subscription, or read the articles online. Read More
From the media release:
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) released a new report that documents the dismal state of affairs when it comes to protecting Canadian children from cosmetic pesticides used on lawns and gardens.
Download the backgrounder and full report below. Read More
EDMONTON – Today, the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) Northern Alberta chapter publicly releases the first of three reports illustrating on-the-ground status of and threats to Alberta's boreal woodland caribou.
The reports are the first of their kind in Alberta – the first publicly available, science-based assessment that illustrates where in Alberta's boreal forest conservation efforts, legislated protection, and immediate forest restoration need to occur in order to bring Alberta's caribou back from the brink. Read More
The Environmental Law Centre has published their report "Conservation Directives: Alberta's unknown and untested conservation tool":
When we think of protecting Alberta’s landscapes there are a variety of tools that are quite well understood and used: parks on public land, conservation easements on private land. The Alberta Land Stewardship Act (ALSA) greatly added to the conservation tool box by providing a variety of legal mechanisms to plan and manage for conservation purposes.
Read More
The Pembina Institute has published their report "Fostering a conversation on stronger carbon pricing in Alberta":
British economist Lord Nicolas Stern has noted that “climate change presents a unique challenge for economics: it is the greatest example of market failure we have ever seen.” Putting an effective price on carbon pollution is one of the best ways to correct this failure while capitalizing on the flexibility and efficiencies afforded by the market. An increasing number of industry players, environmental organizations and economic institutions are also recognizing this fact.
Read More
The Environmental Law Centre has made available for download their report "In Water we Trust: Engaging Albertans in Restoration and Maintenance of Environmental Flows":
Should Alberta adopt policies that allow for 3rd party participation in instream flow protection? Are water trust organizations a part of the answer to instream flow needs in over-allocated basins? The Environmental Law Centre’s report In Water we Trust: Engaging Albertans in Restoration and Maintenance of Environmental Flows seeks to answer these questions.
Read More
The latest issue of the Wildlands Advocate is now available from the Alberta Wilderness Association website.
The Environmental Law Centre has published its Model for Harmonized Provincial Environmental and Sustainability Assessment:
In recent years, federal environmental assessment law has undergone radical changes resulting in a reduced number and scope of federal environmental assessment. Consequently, the provinces are positioned to take a greater role in environmental assessment as the federal government takes a step back. In light of a reduced federal role, the province to province cooperation and coordination can play a greater role. This may include expansion of regional environmental assessment and strategic environmental assessment within and across provinces.
This report builds upon the ELC's publication A Model Environmental and Sustainability Assessment Law by establishing the criteria necessary for successful province to province cooperation and coordination. As well, this report explores the means by which a province can implement regional environmental assessment and strategic environmental assessment within their own borders and cooperatively with other provinces. Recognizing that ecological regions and policy decisions may not respect political boundaries, moving beyond traditional project based environmental assessment and creating broader frameworks for decision-making requires province to province cooperation and coordination.
Read More
The Pembina Institute has posted its submission to Alberta's Climate Change Advisory Panel:
This set of recommendations for Alberta’s Climate Leadership process would enable a peak in Alberta’s overall emissions by 2020, enable Alberta to contribute its fair share towards Canada’s international 2030 target and put Alberta on track to achieve an 80 per cent emissions reduction below 1990 levels by 2050.
Read More
From the CPAWS Northern Alberta Chapter website:
A new report released today by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) finds that Canada’s national parks are under serious threat from growing commercial development pressures, particularly in Banff and Jasper.
The report describes a list of recent developments that, together, threaten the natural values national parks are intended to protect. These include the recent rushed approval of a massive expansion of the Lake Louise Ski Resort in Banff, construction of the Glacier Skywalk and a proposed Maligne Lake resort development in Jasper, and a proposal to build a giant seven story statue in Cape Breton Highlands National Park, among others.
Read More
