British Columbia is tagged by the provincial government as the "Best Place on Earth." We are blessed to be home to some of the greatest parks and trails in the world.
This year, the province is celebrating 100 years of BC Parks, so it's kind of ironic that the government is celebrating its parks and all that they offer for residents and tourists in the midst of a damning internal report. Seems our B.C. Parks are lacking and that Best Place on Earth statement is not living up to its full billing.
In his latest report released this week, Auditor General John Doyle wrote that government has a clear vision to conserve ecological integrity in the province's parks and protected areas, but not the plans to achieve this.
"Despite its declared intentions and clear vision to conserve the ecological integrity in these areas, the Ministry of Environment is not meeting this goal," Doyle went on to say.
The audit assessed whether the Ministry is meeting the current goal of the BC Parks Program Plan of being recognized for leadership in the stewardship of ecological and cultural integrity. Conserving ecological integrity contributes to protecting biodiversity, preserving wilderness and maintaining ecosystem services, such as water purification and erosion control.
Key findings included: while the Ministry had a clear goal, its plans were incomplete or dated; conservation policies are not being consistently upheld; and little action has been taken to ensure conservation. As well, the Ministry is not reporting publicly on its progress.
The findings should be very eye-opening for the government.
But it wasn't all bad news. Doyle said he was deeply impressed by the commitment of ministry staff to their program and urged the government to take action now to ensure that B.C. Parks and protected areas are available for future generations.
So how does government meet these challenges? By providing the necessary funding to BC Parks and the Ministry of Environment to run the necessary programs and keep our B.C. Parks in the pristine condition they are now. Stop with the cutbacks to staff, stop with the cutbacks in programing. Give the Ministry what it needs to operate our park system the way it should.
If we truly are "the Best Place on Earth" what better way to show it than by putting our money where our mouth is?
