Introduction

Wetlands are one of the earth's greatest natural resources but they have been historically undervalued in our society. Many of British Columbia's wetlands have been drained, filled, farmed, polluted and paved over. The ecological benefits that these destroyed wetlands once provided have been lost. The wetlands that remain provide vitally important habitat for our fish, birds, amphibians, insects, and the billions of invertebrates and micro-organisms that form the basis of the global food chain. In addition, our wetlands provide naturalists, boaters, hunters, and weekend walkers with a connection to nature.

Over the past twenty years British Columbians have become aware of the environmental crises occurring in our forests and to our fish populations. Meanwhile, wetlands have been pushed to the background, not only in the media, but in terms of protective legislation.

But policy makers and government decision-makers have started to listen to advice from ecologists, scientists and conservationists. They are beginning to protect wetlands in a variety of ways: by directly acquiring them for habitat for fish and waterfowl; by restricting development in or around wetlands; and, by using various other legal tools to ensure that wetlands are protected.

The right legal tools, though, are not yet available. British Columbia does not have a clear and complete set of wetland laws. The province has no written wetlands policy. The legislation that does exist is inadequate, and often not enforced.

To overcome the lack of protection for wetlands we need to educate ourselves and our elected officials, advocate protection for wetlands in law, participate in land use planning, monitor land use in our local areas, organize community groups to restore damaged or destroyed wetlands, and insist on wetland education in our schools.

As we say in the Note to the Reader, this Guide is divided into two parts, written by two different authors.

The first part introduces wetland science. It answers the question: "What is a wetland?" and describes the ecological functions and benefits of wetlands. It uses examples from BC and elsewhere to discuss the importance of wetlands in BC. Bill Jeffries of BC Wetnet wrote this part.

The second part describes the major laws that are used to protect wetlands, and proposes changes to the current legal framework for wetland protection. It discusses effective legal tools used in other jurisdictions, and tools we wish we had in BC. Linda Nowlan, staff lawyer with the West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation, wrote this part.