Evaluation of the Protected Areas Program: chapter 9
6.0 Recommendations and Management Response
The evaluation identified the following proposed recommendations that would help address identified program challenges.
The following recommendations are directed to the Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Branch (ADM ESB), as the senior departmental official responsible for the management of the PA program:
Recommendation 1 - Revisit and refine the program logic model and performance measurement strategy
The evaluation found that not all program outcomes are supported or being achieved (e.g., ecological integrity, public awareness), and that performance measurement data is very limited and not being collected, monitored, tracked or reported in a consistent manner. It also found that documentation practices are not consistent across regions or sites and that tools and templates are not consistently and universally used. It is recommended that the program revisit the program theory via the logic model to ensure a clear understanding of their accountability (e.g., what they should be focussing on, what they should no longer do or is not essential to the program or department’s mandate). It is recommended that the following areas require specific focus:
- The Logic Model: Revisit the program theory and renew the program logic model to ensure a clear understanding of the PA’s accountability; the renewed logic model should be sustainable given the mandate assigned and the resources available.
- The Performance Measurement Strategy: The program should refine the performance management strategy and plan for measuring, capturing and reporting relevant program performance data/information necessary to enable effective decision-making across all protected area sites across Canada. Currently, there is very little information available on level of activity across all Protected Areas managed by EC, and more importantly, there is little information available on intermediate outcome achievement and final outcomes achievement.
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Management Response
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| The ADM, ESB agrees with the recommendation and will revisit the program logic model to confirm the program’s focus and ensure program objectives are well-aligned to current priorities and resources. Once completed, a renewed performance measurement strategy will be developed and implemented to support the efficient and timely tracking of key performance indices to support ongoing program decision-making and reporting. |
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Timeline
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Deliverable(s)
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Responsible Party
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September 2014 - Logic model and performance measurement strategy
December 2014 |
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ESB, Canadian Wildlife Service, Director, Habitat Conservation Management |
Recommendation 2: Develop and implement an approach for Environment Canada to more actively engage with all program stakeholders in order to enhance the ecological integrity of the department’s Protected Areas and contribute to a national vision on the management and oversight of Protected Areas throughout Canada.
As demonstrated by the evaluation, it is within the Minister of the Environment’s purview to coordinate and implement wildlife policies and programs in cooperation with the government of any province, and the program is designed to achieve its objectives through such coordination. An approach to engage with stakeholders should consider the need to:
- Strengthen the coordination of the overall activities of the Protected Areas Program including, the research, monitoring and assessment functions. Species monitoring and research that is conducted within Environment Canada Protected Areas is managed by the CWS, however, this information is neither well-coordinated nor disseminated, which in turn may impede the program’s achievement of intended outcomes related to encouraging the establishment of protected areas by partners and ensuring the resilience and redundancy of priority habitats. National mechanisms and processes for effective coordination, collaboration, communication, and information exchange of all relevant program activities with all key stakeholders need to be developed. Greater clarity, communication and understanding of the respective roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders are also required to strengthen the coordination.
- Complete Site Management Plans. The CESD noted in 2013 that Site Management Plans were lacking and that the few that existed were out-of-date. Site management plans should be developed for specific Environment Canada protected areas according to their prioritized rankings (with timelines for completion based on the Operational Reviews of 2008 and 2010) and in a manner that is commensurate to the importance and significance of each Protected Area. Consideration should also be given to developing a standard set of ecological integrity performance measures (e.g., flora and fauna inventories, etc.).
- Enhance public understanding and support for the role and importance of Protected Areas in conserving and protecting wildlife. The PA program is doing little to fulfil outcomes associated with public awareness of the need for protected areas. The state of public understanding, support and engagement should be further assessed and a communication plan developed in order to address this outcome.
- Open a dialogue with partners on how to work jointly toward the achievement of targets for protected areas in Canada. There is no clear national target for protected areas and no clear direction on how Canada would reach such targets. In collaboration with key stakeholders (e.g., other CWS and EC units, First Nations, OGDs, other levels of government, NGOs). EC should encourage and support a national discussion on how such targets could be established and achieved, including the identification of specific approaches and timelines.
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Management Response
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The ADM, ESB agrees with the recommendation. The protected areas program will revisit and update the Protected Areas Strategy, which will include a roadmap to achieve specific targets for Environment Canada's protected areas, as outlined in the program's logic model and performance measurement strategy. The Aichi and the proposed Canadian biodiversity targets are intended to guide and track the collective efforts of all Canadians. Approaches to supporting the targets will vary widely across jurisdictions, sectors and for partners and individuals across the country. As such, Environment Canada will not define the specific actions required for all of Canada, but will work jointly with relevant partners towards the achievement of targets for protected areas in Canada, identify and highlight leading examples of the kinds of key actions and initiatives that are underway or could be undertaken to achieve Canada's 2020 biodiversity goals and targets. The intention is that each contributor will identify the specific actions and initiatives that are appropriate to their own responsibilities and interests. Environment Canada will also identify its own contributions to this effort by developing consistent goals with respect to Canada's 2020 biodiversity goals and targets, updating the Protected Areas Status Report, and updating the Protected Areas Strategy. Environment Canada's protected areas program will also examine how it coordinates and communicates on its activities with other federal departments and agencies, provincial and territorial governments, and NGOs to allow EC to build on their work and so that others can leverage from the EC work. It is important to emphasize, however, that protected areas managed by other federal departments, FPT partners and NGOs are beyond the department's direct purview. Environment Canada's protected areas program will also outline an approach to completing site management plans, as well as assess the capacity to strengthen research, monitoring, and assessment functions, with the understanding that the department does not currently have the human or financial capacity to fully realize these improvements. As Environment Canada develops its logic model as per recommendation 1, and should the importance of the enhancement of public understanding and support for the protected areas be retained as an outcome, the program would establish a communications approach. |
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Timeline
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Deliverable(s)
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Responsible Party
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| December 2015 |
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ESB, Canadian Wildlife Service, Director, Habitat Conservation Management |
| December 2018 | 100% of Management plans for National Wildlife Areas will be completed by December, 2018. 50% of plans will be completed by December, 2015. Management plans for Migratory Bird Sanctuaries that are located on federal land and/or those for which EC has the primary responsibility for management of habitat and the conservation and protection of migratory birds and their eggs and nests will also be completed by December, 2018. | ESB, Canadian Wildlife Service, Director, Habitat Conservation Management |