Backcountry tourism perspectives on shared decision making in B.C. land use planning.

Abstract

This paper examines the degree to which shared decision making (SDM) principles, guidelines, and outcomes were realized in British Columbia's land and resource management plans (LRMPs) from the perspective of tourism respondents who participated in these LRMP processes. The findings suggest that tourism stakeholders are generally satisfied with how SDM mechanisms helped shape the LRMP outcomes. They also identify areas where SDM processes could be strengthened in order to generate more positive and lasting results for the tourism industry. To address these weaknesses, the paper recommends that future SDM processes provide increased financial support for stakeholder participation, address inequities in opportunities for stakeholder participation; and conduct more training for process participants.

Les auteurs de cet article etudient la mesure dans laquelle les principes, les directives et les resultats en matiere de prise de decision par consensus ont ete suivis et atteints dans le cadre des plans de gestion des terres et des ressources, du point de vue des repondants du milieu touristique ayant participe a ces processus. Les resultats donnent a penser que les participants dans le domaine touristique sont, en general, satisfaits de la maniere dont les mecanismes de prise de decision par consensus ont contribue aux resultats des plans de gestion des terres et des ressources. Ils degagent egalement les domaines ou les processus de prise de decision par consensus pourraient etre renforces dans le but d'en arriver a des resultats plus positifs et permanents pour l'industrie du tourisme. Pour s'attaquer a ces faiblesses, les auteurs de l'article recommandent que les processus de prise de decision par consensus a venir prevoient un soutien financier accru pour la participation des intervenants, traitent des inegalites en matiere de possibilites de participation pour les intervenants, et prevoient davantage de formation pour les participants au processus.

Key Words

Tourism, shared decision making, land and resource management planning, best practices, British Columbia

Introduction

Little doubt exists that British Columbia's tourism industry is dependent on the province's Crown lands for its market appeal and long-term sustainability. The province's motto "Splendour Without Diminishment," its vehicle license plate slogan "Beautiful British Columbia," and its well-established tourism brand "Super, Natural British Columbia" all highlight the importance that successive governments have attached to the region's Crown lands as a backdrop for tourism activity. Comprised of about 92 percent of the province's 95-million hectare landscape (Canadian Forest Service 2001), these lands contain some of the world's most majestic mountains, extensive forests, wildest rivers, and outstanding biodiversity. In combination, these resources helped to advantageously position British Columbia on the international tourism stage.

Concurrently, these lands have traditionally been a source of revenues and livelihood for communities and businesses engaged in forestry, mining, oil and gas development, power generation, fisheries, and agriculture. With an economy built by industries that depend on secure access to natural resources, it is not surprising that integrated land use planning in British Columbia is both challenging and critical.

Prior to the early 1990s, B.C.'s land use planning initiatives were forest-centric in their emphasis. Primarily conducted by the province's Ministry of Forests, planning focused on expanding timber extraction opportunities for industry, almost to the exclusion of other resource industries including tourism (Gunton 1991; Wilson 1995). In the early 1990s, excluded stakeholders highlighted inequities in the existing planning process and demanded a more inclusive approach (Williams et al. 1998a). After much heated debate, B.C.'s government instituted an innovative land planning program guided by shared decision-making (SDM) principles (Kofinas and Griggs 1996; Day et al. 2003). This more inclusive approach to planning was systematically applied in the 1990s via two province-wide planning processes: the Commission on Resources and Environment (CORE), and the Land and Resource Management Planning (LRMP) process. These SDM processes were designed to integrate the land use needs of all potential stakeholders. The two programs offered unprecedented opportunities to incorporate nontraditional resource use values into B.C.'s land planning decisions. One stakeholder group with such values that seized the opportunity to participate in these SDM programs was the backcountry tourism sector. The perspectives of these tourism stakeholders concerning SDM mechanisms and outcomes are the focus of this paper.

SDM in LRMP Planning Processes

SDM approaches to LRMP planning emphasized "the importance of equal access to information and equal opportunity for input and scrutiny of issues and concerns by all participants, thereby creating a constructive environment for problem solving" (Duffy et al. 1996). Facilitated participation, consensus building, collaboration, interest-based negotiation, and mediation are SDM principles that are designed to generate more inclusive, representative, and respectful resolutions to disputes (Cormick et al. 1996, Susskind and Cruikshank 1987, Darling 1991, NRTEE 1993). While not suited to all situations, SDM is appropriate in circumstances where conventional approaches to conflict resolution have failed and alternative techniques are needed (Bacow and Wheeler 1984, Gunton and Flynn 1992). Such situations are often associated with land use disputes involving multistakeholder interests and conflicts over natural resource allocations. Such disputes were particularly prevalent in B.C. throughout the 1990s, and SDM mechanisms were employed to address these conflicts in the context of the province's CORE and LRMP initiatives. SDM mechanisms were believed to be suited to creating process and planning outcomes that were more creative and reflective of public interests. They were also thought to be capable of increasing the planning capacities of the participants (Frame 2002). (A more detailed summary of the principles and guidelines associated with SDM processes as well as the potential outcomes they may produce is provided in Tables 1 and 2). The extent to which these are implemented in SDM processes, and subsequently provide benefit, offer a useful basis for assessing the efficacy of such procedures in land use planning situations.

B.C.'s Tourism Land and Natural Resource Needs

Tourism is strategically important to B.C. Over the past decade and a half, it has been one of the largest and fastest growing sectors in the B.C. economy. In 2001, tourism supported an estimated 112,000 jobs and $9.2 billion in revenues (Meadfield 2002). These contributions were spread throughout the province, providing needed economic diversification to rural areas (BC MRSM 2001).

The foundation of B.C.'s tourism industry is the province's spectacular beauty, landscapes, and natural resources. Targeted promotional programs and unsolicited testimonials attest to the importance that B.C.'s natural landscape plays in shaping opportunities for tourism growth: "there is a dynamic at work in B.C. that makes it unique not just in Canada but possibly in the world. It has to do with the almost mystical allure of B.C.'s physical environment" (Lonely Planet 2001 cited in Meadfield 2002). Scenic viewscapes, intact wildlife habitats, pristine forested landscapes, and unaltered shorelines are the core ingredients for many of the province's outstanding adventure, cultural, and nature-based tourism products. Without protection of these tourism resources, the industry's sustained contribution to the province's welfare is questionable. These circumstances reinforce the importance of incorporating environmental and cultural tourism values into provincial land use planning initiatives.

Past Tourism Land Use Planning Initiatives

Despite the perceived importance of tourism to the province's economy, the industry's natural resource needs had not been systematically incorporated into most land use planning initiatives. Traditionally, government organizations had focused primarily on marketing tourism, as opposed to developing the legislative capability or technical systems needed to effectively integrate tourism resource requirements into regional land use plans. As a consequence, restricted land use access and limited crown land tenure possibilities stymied many opportunities for backcountry tourism development in British Columbia (Williams et al. 1998b).

More recently, as recognition of tourism's natural resource requirements has grown, so has the need to incorporate the industry's resource requirements into land use planning decisions. This imperative has been reinforced by a diminishing provincial dependence on natural resource extraction industries for economic development (Gunton 1998), and the escalating demand for nature-based tourism opportunities (Middleton 1998). As a consequence, many of the province's recently completed LRMPs have included tourism values in their management directives.

Research Focus and Method