Partnership Committee on Agriculture and the Environment - Principle


	Partnership Committee on Agriculture and the Environment Principles on Achieving Environmental Goals on Farmland Compliance with Laws and Regulations The agriculture industry, as is the case with all other sectors of the economy, has had to comply with various laws and regulations for decades; including those dealing with environmental protection. The Waste Management Act, Water Act, Fisheries Act, and Pesticide Control Act are a few of the laws with which farmers and ranchers must comply. When conducting their businesses, agricultural operators are expected to exercise due diligence to ensure that their businesses conform to the requirements of these laws. Principle: Compliance and due diligence are the responsibility of farmers and ranchers and part of the cost of doing business in British Columbia. Expediting Compliance Public agencies have a range of options for promoting compliance including; education and awareness, partnerships, assistance, inspections, monitoring, auditing, warnings, orders and prosecutions. Most jurisdictions have found education and awareness and assistance approaches, when used in combination with regulatory options, to be effective ways of expediting on-farm changes that bring operations into compliance. The Manure Storage Program, funded by Investment Agriculture, has demonstrated the success of the assistance approach. Achieving Enhanced Environmental Goals Compliance with laws is not sufficient to achieve all environmental goals. Examples include: enhancing function of riparian areas improving habitat for migratory birds by providing feed and shelter on farmland conserving wildlife habitat by keeping farmland in native vegetation Some farmers and ranchers are keen environmentalists and may choose voluntarily to change or restrict their practices for the achievement of environmental values. Others may confine themselves solely to the business of agriculture and choose not to make any additional contributions towards environmental stewardship. Principle: Voluntary actions, over and above those required to comply with laws and regulations, are an important part of achieving environmental objectives. Expediting Voluntary Stewardship There have been numerous programs in British Columbia aimed at encouraging voluntary stewardship activities on farms and ranches. Examples include: Agri-Food Regional Development Subsidiary Agreement (ARDSA), Agricultural Land Development Assistance (ALDA), National Soil Conservation Program, Green Plan for Agriculture, Fraser River Action Plan, Interior Wetlands Program and current programs such as Pacific Coast Joint Venture, Georgia Basin Ecosystem Initiative, Salmon Enhancement Fund, DFO’s New Direction Program, Delta Farmland and Wildlife Trust, CARD program being delivered by the Investment Agriculture Foundation, Habitat Conservation Trust Fund and Fisheries Renewal B.C. Activities funded by these programs fall within the following general categories: education and awareness extension research cost-share incentives monitoring and evaluation habitat restoration and enhancement initiatives water conservation These types of programs have proven effective in increasing environmental stewardship activities on B.C.’s farms and ranches and need to be continued to ensure increased levels of environmental protection and enhancement on agricultural lands. A Common Vision It is important for the partners to define and then commit to realizing a common vision for agriculture and the environment. *Principle:* *The common vision is to maintain, conserve and enhance environmental values while sustaining a prosperous agriculture industry.* The vision is to be realized by all partners working cooperatively to: develop a plan that clearly identifies the issues, common versus disparate views, and approaches for dealing with the issues co-ordinate existing agency programs as appropriate, to ensure they are as complimentary as possible create a dedicated fund for addressing agriculture/environment issues establish a clearing house for information on agriculture/environment issues, policy and programs to ensure information is readily available to all parties and access to assistance programs is optimized Approved by the Partnership Committee on Agriculture and the Environment on June 14, 2000. Return to PARTNERSHIP COMMITTEE main page