How should Offshore Wind Energy (OWE) projects be formulated within marine integrated planning? The response to this question needs to be considered in the context of the Oceans Act of 1996 and its associated policies and plans.
A critical step to formulating such integration is crafting policies and plans for marine integrated planning. The Oceans Act designates the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans as the primary authority responsible for establishing a collaborative process to develop these policies and plans. Engagement of all actors including governmental bodies, stakeholders, and coastal communities is also essential in the development of policies and plans. These policies and plans should incorporate marine activities such as OWE and integrate them into marine areas based on ecological objectives.
Integrated management is an important tool that allows different sectors, including the new sectors such as OWE, to collaborate to reduce conflicts and promote the protection of the environment. It requires involvement from all levels of government, stakeholders, and all people, including Indigenous communities. Federal departments with responsibilities for environmental protection and policymaking should participate in managing marine activities to preserve marine areas. Similarly, provincial departments, which might be better equipped to address local impacts of development activities, should collaborate with other levels of government for integrated management of marine activities. This inclusive collaboration supports an integration that is beneficial for the development of OWE.
The policies and plans should be also based on principles to guide the integration of OWE projects into marine areas. The Oceans Act identifies some key principles, such as sustainable development, the integrated management of activities in estuaries, coastal, and marine waters, the precautionary approach, and maintaining ecological integrity. For example, marine activities and their impacts, which include the likely impacts of OWE projects, should not undermine ecological integrity. This means that the biodiversity of ecosystems, as well as their structure, composition, processes, and functioning, should not be compromised.
When planning activities for OWE projects, it is also important to avoid marine protected areas. The Oceans Act provides that an area of the sea can be designated as a marine protected area for the conservation and protection of fishery resources and their habitats, endangered or threatened marine species and their habitats, unique habitats, marine areas of high biodiversity and biological productivity, and marine areas for the purpose of maintaining ecological integrity. Marine protected areas can include existing areas as well as any potential future designations in line with overarching ecological objectives. When selecting sites for OWE projects, it is appropriate to consider the ecological integrity of marine areas and avoid any existing and potential marine protected areas.
Areas for policy and planning improvement
– Restoring and updating national and regional policies and plans such as Canada’s Ocean Strategy and Regional Oceans Plan – Scotian Shelf, Atlantic Coast, Bay of Fundy.
– Effective planning and management of OWE projects within the framework of comprehensive policies and plans for all marine uses and crafting sectoral plans for each marine use, including emerging activities like OWE.
– Developing marine spatial planning to effectively reduce potential conflicts of OWE with other marine activities and promote environmental protection.
– Establishment of a marine and coastal information system in the department of Fisheries and Oceans to collect and update scientific, traditional, and social knowledge and information to be used for effective assessments of impacts and cumulative effects of projects.
– Promotion of collaborations among all levels of government, sectors, stakeholders, and communities through a recurring planning process.
– Identification of marine protected areas and their network for avoiding such areas in planning activities of OWE projects.
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