Over the
past decade, there has been an increase in protected areas within
British Columbia, culminating
in 12% of the provincial land base in 2005. Also during this time, the academic
community has accumulated a diverse and interdisciplinary body of research
related to the planning, development and management of parks and protected
areas (PPA).
Current
initiatives to link researchers with PPA management lack regional focus and do
not facilitate ongoing communication between stakeholders. As a result, there
is a need for infrastructure and support to facilitate collaborative efforts
around PPA initiatives.
In
1998 and 2001, the provinces of
Ontario and
Manitoba respectively,
addressed this same need by establishing protected areas research forums (PRFOntario, PPARFManitoba). During the spring of 2005, representatives from major
academic institutions in BC and provincial and federal parks agencies met in
Victoria to propose a similar provincial forum modeled after
the
Ontario
and Manitoba PPAR forums.
This initial
meeting led to the fruition of the
British Columbia
Parks and Protected Areas Research
Forum (BCPARF) with the
University of
Northern British Columbia
acting as the forum’s initial host and Pamela Wright, Associate Professor in the Outdoor Recreation and Tourism program, served as the forum’s founding chair.
The goal
of the forum is not to conduct research itself but to facilitate research and
its application to parks and protected areas management.
