Cumulative effects in the Salish Sea Ecosystem

The Government of Canada is advancing knowledge to support cumulative effects management in the Salish Sea Ecosystem. This includes areas within the Georgia Basin, such as Howe Sound, Burrard Inlet, Fraser River Estuary, Boundary Bay, and portions of Vancouver Island and the Southern Gulf Islands.

Cumulative effects are changes in the environment caused by multiple interactions among human activities and natural processes that accumulate in space and time. Individual actions may not result in significant environmental effects. However, when they occur with other activities or processes, the effects may interact with one another and add up over time.

The Government is drawing on programs and initiatives in the Salish Sea Ecosystem to promote understanding of cumulative effects. It is improving access to existing datasets, publications and tools  to inform studies of stewardship activities to address cumulative effects.

Work on cumulative effects in the Salish Sea Ecosystem responds to two of the 16 recommendations from the Canada Energy Regulator’s Reconsideration Report for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.

• In response to Recommendation 1, the Government is Advancing Knowledge in Support of Managing Cumulative Effects in the Salish Sea.
• In response to Recommendation 2, the Government is Reporting on Existing Programs related to the Health of the Salish Sea.

Additional information will be shared as knowledge is generated.

Importance of the Salish Sea Ecosystem

Description of the Salish Sea Ecosystem and its importance

Generating knowledge on cumulative effects in the Salish Sea Ecosystem

Oceans Protection Plan, Whales Initiative, Marine Spatial Planning, monitoring programs, and the Salish Sea Marine Emission Reductions Program

Sharing knowledge on cumulative effects in the Salish Sea Ecosystem

Datasets, publications and tools relating to human activities and stressors; air, water and species well-being; and interactions among ecosystem components