Coastal Strategy a “Good Start”; now let’s get moving on an Act
October 13, 2011
Halifax - The Coastal Coalition of Nova Scotia (CCNS) welcomes the draft Coastal Strategy launched by the province on Thursday and considers it an important step towards a provincial Coastal Act.
“The CCNS has supported the coastal strategy since the process began” says Jennifer Graham, Coalition spokesperson and Coastal Coordinator at the Ecology Action Centre, “We’re really pleased to see governance as a priority issue. After all, how can we hope to protect our coast and coastal communities if we don’t put in place a fair, transparent, straightforward, and accountable system of consistently applied rules and regulations for all coastal activities?”
CCNS is also pleased with many of the goals identified in the strategy, including establishing coastal development standards and setting targets for cleaning up polluted coastal areas. However, the Coalition believes these recommendations need to be tied to firm commitments for implementation with associated timelines and resources.
“We’ve been very clear that we consider a strategy to be just that – a strategy. It’s 2011, and we need to see the kinds of coastal legislation, planning, and enforcement that will actually fix the problems along the coast. We want to see the province commit to a Coastal Act,” says Graham.
The Coalition is also disappointed the Strategy limits itself to 6 isolated coastal issues plus governance. “What about aquaculture?” asks Graham, “Shouldn’t the same commitment to developing consistent standards, filling information gaps, and finding a meaningful role for communities apply to all coastal activities, including aquaculture?”
CCNS is committed to working with the provincial and municipal governments to further advance sustainable coastal development and is urging all Nova Scotians who care about the coast and its future to share their views with the provincial government online.
CCNS is a network of 50 community and environmental organizations from around the Province.
More information on the Provincial Sustainable Coastal Development Strategy can be found here.
Contact: Jennifer Graham,Coastal Coordinator, Ecology Action Centre
Office: 442-5046 Cell: 219-8554. Email: coastal@ecologyaction.ca
