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Northern Coastal Information & Research Program |
Review of the State of Knowledge and Current Initiatives Regarding Highly Valued Marine and Shoreline Areas in Relation to Potential Offshore Oil and Gas
Project Partner: LGL Ltd. Environmental Research Associates
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One of the most fundamental concerns is the identification and protection of particularly valued sub-areas of the basin where exploration and development could occur. Resource developers want to know, in essence, where they should not even consider planning to explore or produce, as well as what parts of the more prospective areas may require special study and planning. Those whose primary concern is protecting the existing biological resource harvesting or the overall ecological integrity also seek the designation of parts of the ocean for special care and the exclusion of any potentially harmful human activity. This project aimed at establishing what is known and what gaps exist in information about those most special areas within the Queen Charlotte Basin.
There were two main components to this study. The first was a compilation of existing government data sets and published information on key environmental features. The second was gathering local knowledge of the key environmental features. Relative values were then assigned to the various marine themes using what is called the Delphi method. The end result was a weighted value rating for all eco-units across all themes, with maps used to display patterns in space. The study also identified and mapped where the value ratings from local interviews differed appreciably from government data.