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Protected Areas
Visitors to Nova Scotia have long marveled at the diversity of landscape that exists in this province. From the boreal forest topping the Cape Breton highlands to the rugged coastal barrens along the South Shore, Nova Scotia possesses about 80 distinct natural landscapes, each with a unique association of rock, plant and animal. Unfortunately there are no guarantees that our natural environment will continue in its great diversity for our children to enjoy in the future. The province has made repeated promises to complete a Protected Areas Network that would effectively protect all of Nova Scotia's 80 landscapes, but unfortunately, they have failed to do so. (See "Current Status") Currently only 23 of our natural landscapes have been adequately protected. Adequate protection is achieved by setting aside a large patch of land in a given landscape, one which includes as many of the unique features of the landscape as possible. If a given landscape has beaches, forests and wetlands within it, and only a beach is protected, this would not be considered adequate protection. 
There is no time to waste in completing Nova Scotia's Protected Areas Network. We are losing about 500 square kilometers of the province's forests to clearcut forestry every year, mining is permanently altering landscapes throughout the province - always threatening to spread to new places, and suburban development is creeping further and further into wild areas. Without adequate protection now, much of the natural diversity of Nova Scotia will forever be lost. Protected Areas in Nova ScotiaThere are four distinct protected area designations for Public Land in Nova Scotia: National Parks, Provincial Parks, Nature Reserves and Wilderness Areas. Together, these four designations offer varying degrees of protection to approximately 8.2% of Nova Scotia's total area. National Parks
Approximately 2.5% of Nova Scotia's landbase is Federal Public Land, and almost all of this 2.5% is contained in two large National Parks - Kejimkujik National Park, and Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Section 4(1) of the Canada National Parks Act defines the intent of National Parks which are "dedicated to the people of Canada for their benefit, education and enjoyment, subject to this Act and the regulations, and the parks shall be maintained and made use of so as to leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Nova Scotia's National Parks are heavily used for outdoor recreation, and have introduced many people to the beauty and diversity of Nova Scotia's natural landscapes. Resource extraction and most development are prohibited in National Parks, and both Kejimkujik and Cape Breton Highlands contain rare and endangered species, as well as representative examples of a number of Nova Scotia's natural landscapes. As such National Parks are an important piece in the matrix of protected land in Nova Scotia. Provincial Parks
There are approximately 128 Provincial Parks in Nova Scotia. Provincial Parks are generally quite small, with the majority of them being of the day-use picnic park variety. Together, these account for about 0.28% of the province's total area. Though the Provincial Parks Act suggests that its purpose is to protect land for both wilderness recreation and ecological preservation, Provincial Parks in Nova Scotia are heavily focused on recreation. 
Increasingly, scientists are realizing that to effectively preserve natural environments, protected areas must be relatively large in size, and relatively connected to other protected areas. There are no large Provincial Parks in Nova Scotia (most in fact are quite tiny - only 3 are greater than 1000 hectares in size), and most are not formally connected to other protected areas. Thus, Provincial Parks provide some excellent day-use outdoor recreation opportunities, but contribute relatively little to the overall preservation of the province-wide ecosystem mosaic in Nova Scotia.
Nature Reserves
There are 7 Nature Reserves established under the Special Places Protection Act, which represents approximately 0.027% of the Nova Scotia's total land area. The Act can be used to protect areas of archeological and historical significance, as well as areas of ecological significance. Ecological significance is defined widely and includes areas boasting rare or endangered species, areas which are representative of natural ecosystems, and areas which are regenerating after human impact and offer an opportunity to study the natural recovery of ecosystems. A Special Place designation offers the most strict and binding protection of any of the provincial designations. Currently, however, only 7 Special Places have been established, totaling just a few thousand hectares. With such a small amount of land covered by Special Places, their role in protecting the ecological integrity of the Province is minimal and should be increased significantly. Recently, the Nova Scotia government has committed to designated five more nature reserves in its recently released green plan. Wilderness Areas
In 1998 the Wilderness Areas Protection Act established 31 Wilderness Areas around the Province, representing approximately 5.4% of the total area of Nova Scotia. Unlike unprotected Public Land, and Provincial Parks which are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources, these new Wilderness Areas are managed by the Department of the Environment and Labour (DEL). Section 2 of the Act defines its intentions: The purpose of this Act is to provide for the establishment, management, protection and use of wilderness areas, in perpetuity, for present and future generations, in order to achieve the following primary objectives:
Under the Act, forestry, mining, agriculture, aquaculture, hydroelectric development, and transmission and pipelines are prohibited, effectively eliminating many of the harmful agents degrading the rest of Public Land in the Province. However, since recreation, hunting trapping and fishing, and limited use of All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) are all allowed under the Act, careful management plans will be required for each Area to ensure long-term ecological sustainability. The Act calls for the creation of a management plan for each Wilderness Area, but to date, DEL has begun the process of creating a management plan for only two of the thirty-one Areas (the Tobeatic Wilderness Area, and the Polletts Cove-Aspy Fault Wilderness Area)
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© Nova Scotia Public Lands Coalition, Ecology Action Centre, 2006 |
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