Sabine Jessen , CPAWS Julie Gardner , Dovetail Consulting Sandra Bicego , PacificaBlue Consulting

1. Challenges and Opportunities in Meeting Canada’s 2012 Commitment on a National Network of MPAsInitial Findings Sabine Jessen, CPAWS Julie Gardner, Dovetail Consulting Sandra Bicego, PacificaBlue Consulting

2. Outline • Information sources • Overall diagnosis • Network issues • Designation process issues • Roles of key players: Challenges and opportunities • Federal government role • Provinces and territories • Non governmental actors • Key challenges and some suggestions

3. Information sources • 52 Interviews • 14 Atlantic, 12 Pacific, 3 North, 3 QC, 5 Ont, 14 National Capital Region • 34 Federal: 16 DFO,12 PCA, 6 EC • 8 Provincial: 5 Atlantic provinces, 2 BC, 1 NWT • 10 ENGO: WWF, CPAWS, 3 other, 1 academic • Documents – web and literature

4. Overall Diagnosis • Canada made commitment many times to 2012 completion of national network but did not put adequate system and resources in place to achieve the target • Canada’s progress on a national system of MPAs is too slow • Canada’s federal agencies “planning to fail” • Array of challenges identified • Sweeping changes needed

5. Network issues

6. Lack of a Shared Network Vision • Lack of agreement among federal agencies on: • Representation • Percentage protected • Significant areas • What ‘counts’? • Which designations? (fisheries closures,anchorages …) • Different systems for different coasts? • What does “complete” look like? • Clarifying the shared vision – Guidelines for the Establishment of a Federal Marine Protected Areas Network??

7. Challenges with Integrated Management approach • Uncertainty regarding extent to which IM and LOMA approach will work for all agencies in establishing MPAs • Risks identified: • Slow progress on IM stalling progress on MPAs • Will not complete IM processes for all of Canada’s oceans by 2012 • Inconsistent and inadequate funding for IM

8. Addressing the IM issues • Establish MPAs in key places that are obvious and then fill gaps through IM • Provide interim protection to sites right away, while IM underway • Support coast-wide network initiatives

9. Designation process issues

10. Slow pace of designation process • It takes at least 4-5 years to establish an MPA, and can easily take 10 years • Challenges • Loss of momentum, interest, community support • Increase in frustration, spread of misinformation • Changes in government personnel and participants leads to discontinuity • Breakdown of agreement/consensus • Loss of biodiversity

11. Opportunities to increase the pace • Set milestones and timelines and stick to them • Fast track/streamline designation process • Aim for realistic level of stakeholder and community support • Follow Australian approach: Designate first; negotiate details later • Multi-track process • Be ready to move forward when opportunities arise

12. Roles of key players Challenges and opportunities

13. Federal political challenges • Lack of strong political support • Lack of sustained political pressure to deliver MPAs • Lack of champions in Cabinet • Political agendas can work against MPAs • Results in: • insufficient federal funding • slow decisions (e.g. sign-off)

14. Federal leadership challenges • Three federal agencies with MPA responsibilities not showing strong leadership to speed progress • Lack of champions in agencies; no Directors responsible for MPAs • Competing responsibilities within agencies – i.e., fisheries and aquaculture, terrestrial conservation, existing PAs

15. Federal Organizational Challenges • Bureaucratic inertia – lack of urgency • Region-headquarters dynamics • High staff turnover • Inter-agency challenges: priorities, goals and mandates difficult to harmonize; unilateral traditional approaches (silo) • Suggestions later …

16. Provinces and Territories - Challenges • Levels of support and interest in MPAs varies • Provinces have a strong economic development mandate • Jurisdictional challenges, e.g. seabed ownership • Intergovernmental conflicts at political level can influence cooperation • Reaching agreements for cooperation can take years

17. Opportunities re. Provinces/Territories • Engage with regions/provinces in coast-wide or sub-regional MPA network planning • Clarify the role of provincial MPA designations in a national network • Resolve areas of shared/disputed jurisdiction

18. First Nations • Treaties in progress, unsettled claims produce an environment of uncertainty • Rights and title are pivotal • Consultation processes are complex • Lack of support does not indicate lack of interest in marine conservation • Benefits need to be clear • Engage with First Nations on their terms

19. Non-Governmental Actors – key challenges • Includes general public, local communities, fishing industry, ENGOs, scientists • Hold significant power to determine success or failure • Inadequate public pressure for MPAs • Not enough public champions for MPAs • Fear of unknown regarding implications of MPA proposals (lack of understanding) • Fishing industry is powerful political lobby that is often against MPAs

20. Non governmental actors - opportunities • Local champions can be influential and pivotal to political support • Increasing support from fishing industry creating future potential cooperative opportunities • ENGOs complement government efforts and offer partnership opportunities • Science community can help make compelling scientific case for MPAs and contribute knowledge and expertise

21. Over-arching suggestions

22. Make MPAs a national priority • Challenge: • Lack of political support, leadership at the federal level • Lack of public awareness of importance of MPAs • Solution: • Government, ENGOs and science community collaborate on public education • Put MPA champions in leadership positions • Unveil and hold regional discussions on the Guidelines for the Establishment of a Federal Marine Protected Areas Network

23. Build federal governance arrangements that reflect the importance of MPAs • Challenge: • Too difficult to change organizational structure, intellectual orientation and culture of DFO to properly address MPAs and oceans issues broadly • Too difficult to get cooperation among three federal MPA agencies that will actually result in real progress in the water • Solution: • Make the Oceans agenda a government-wide priority, not just for DFO • Establish new federal agency to deliver on all MPAs with dedicated resources … or?

24. Empower regional efforts • Challenge: • Progress on a national network requires collaboration and approaches that are tailored to regional circumstances on Canada’s three ocean coasts • Solution: • Give the regions more autonomy • Create regional MPA authorities – Pacific, Arctic, Atlantic… or?

25. Acknowledgements • For their useful and thoughtful information and insights, we would like to thank everyone who agreed to be interviewed for this study • For funding and other support we would like to thank the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation • For logistical and other support on this project, we thank Megan Baker from CPAWS-BC