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A new model for sustainable development: a case study of The Great Bear Rainforest regional plan

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Abstract

This paper describes a new model of sustainable development planning based on a case study of a successful planning process for the Great Bear Rainforest on Canada’s west coast. The planning region is an area of international ecological significance that contains one-quarter of the world’s remaining ancient coastal temperate rainforest. An innovative collaborative planning process was initiated in 1996 to develop a plan for the region that balances social, economic, and environmental values. The plan, which was accepted by consensus agreement of all stakeholders in 2006, uses a new model for sustainable regional development that is based on collaborative planning, collaborative implementation, informal conflict resolution, contextual adaptation incorporating comanagement with indigenous peoples (First Nations), joint fact finding, ecosystem-based management, and integration of social, economic, and environmental objectives.

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  1. The term Great Bear Rainforest was a name developed for the North and Central Coast of BC by environmental groups for an international campaign to protect the region. The term is based on the presence of “Spirit Bears” in the region, which are rare white bears. We use the Great Bear Rainforest label in this paper because it may be better recognized internationally.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada

    Gordon McGee, Andrea Cullen & Thomas Gunton

Authors
  1. Gordon McGee
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  2. Andrea Cullen
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  3. Thomas Gunton
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Gunton.

Additional information

Research for this paper was supported by a grant from the Canadian Social Sciences and Research Council. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

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McGee, G., Cullen, A. & Gunton, T. A new model for sustainable development: a case study of The Great Bear Rainforest regional plan. Environ Dev Sustain 12, 745–762 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-009-9222-3

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