Transcript John Pinkerton - Parks Canada Approach to Indicators

Parks Canada Approach to
Indicators
First Meeting of Working Group on the
simplification of the Periodic Reporting
questionnaire and the setting up of indicators
6-7 November 2006
John Pinkerton
Overview
Ecological integrity
Commemorative integrity
Visitor Experience, and Public Information and
Education
Application to World Heritage?
Ecological Integrity
For national parks…
•maintenance of EI is first priority in park management
•EI defined as condition determined to be
characteristic of natural region and likely to persist,
including abiotic components and composition and
abundance of native species and biological
communities, rates of change and supporting
processes.
Ecological Integrity Monitoring Framework
Biodiversity
Biodiversity
Process and Function
Process and function
Stressors
Stressors
Species richness
Succession/retrogression
Human land-use patterns
- change in species richness*
- numbers and extent of
exotics*
- disturbance frequencies and size
(fire. insects, flooding)*
- vegetation age class distributions*
- land use maps, roads
densities, population densities.*
Habitat fragmentation
Population Dynamics
Productivity
- mortality/natility rates of
indicator species*
- immigration/emigration of
indicator species*
- population viability of indicator
species*
- landscape or by site
- patch size, inter-patch
distance, forest interior*
Decomposition
Pollutants*
-by site
- sewage, petrochemicals etc.
- long-range transport of toxics
Nutrient retention
-Ca, N by site
Trophic structure
- size class distribution of all
taxa
-predation levels
Climate*
- weather data
- frequency of extreme events
Other*
-park specific issues
EI Monitoring Program
Within “bioregional” groups, each park developing 6-8
indicators for EI…
•to provide comprehensive assessment of elements of
EI monitoring framework
•to answer 2 questions…
What is the state
of park EI?
Condition and trend
What are we doing
to improve it?
Management effectiveness
THE INFORMATION ICEBERG
Finding Common Language
“EI Indicators”
INDICATORS or INDICES
Public Environment
Scientific Environment
STATISTICS
DATA
MEASUREMENTS
“EI Measures”
Targets, Baselines and Thresholds
thresholds
target
‘precautionary principle’
confidence interval
High EI
82
62
62
concerned
EI Impaired
25
42
42
30
baseline
20
Dry Weight Loss of Wood Decomposition Standard
(percent dry weight loss)
Summary Table
State of the Park Report 2005
Gros Morne National Park
Indicator:
Ecosystem
Type
Forest
Percentage of
Park Area
Barrens
35
Wetland
11
Freshwater
8.8
Seacoast
0.2
Marine
1
44
Condition
and Trend
Rationale
High moose density - regeneration
affected. Habitat loss from forestry. High
percentage non-native mammals
Woodland caribou decline. Increasing
human use. Increasing non-native
species
Damage from snowmobiles. Woodland
caribou declines.
Healthy fish and invertebrate
populations.Atlantic salmon, brook trout
concerns
Recovering from historic grazing,
trampling and human use. Seabird
populations healthy
Over-exploitation of fish species,
pollution, garbage
Commemorative Integrity
Key responsibility of Parks Canada Agency is to
ensure “commemorative integrity” in management and
use of national historic sites (NHS)
•applies to all national historic sites
•“integrity” refers to wholeness, health and honesty
•“commemorative” refers to reasons for national
significance (ie: why was this place commemorated)
•for each NHS, Commemorative Integrity Statement
(CIS) developed and use as basis for management
A national historic site possesses
commemorative integrity
• when the resources directly related to the reasons for
designation as national historic site are not impaired or under
threat
• when the reasons for designation as a national historic site
are effectively communicated to the public,and
• when the site’s heritage values (including those not related to
the reasons for designation) are respected in all decisions
and actions affecting the site
CI Evaluation Tool for NHS
•Questionnaire using CIS as foundation document
•Identifies level and impact of threats to NHS
•Measures the three CI elements:
- condition of all known cultural resources
- effectiveness of communication of messages
- effectiveness of selected management
practices
•Ratings of : Green
Yellow
Red
•Rating (1 to 10) for overall state of site’s CI
Presentation of CI Evaluation Results
Resource Condition: Overall
Y
Resources related to reasons for designation
Y
Resources not related to reasons for designation
G
Cultural Resources Types:
•Landscape Features
G
•Buildings, Structures
R
•Archaeological Sites
R
•Objects
G
•Designated Place
Y
Other Heritage Resources
N/R
Visitor Experience and Public
Information and Education
Parks Canada mandate: protect and present
nationally significant examples of Canada’s natural
and cultural heritage, and foster public understanding,
appreciation and enjoyment in ways that ensure the
ecological and commemorative integrity of these
places for present and future generations
•Strong focus on visitor experience, and public
information and education
•Indicators being developed
Application to World Heritage?
•Indicators based on
• clear accountabilities – EI, CI
• on clear understanding of resource values – EI monitoring
framework, CI statement
•Indicators conceived to
• assess “state of…” (condition and trend) and tied to
management action
• to communicate quickly to broad audience but also allow more
in-depth study
•Limited number of indicators, based on larger
number of measures, data sets
• human and financial capacity limitations
Application to World Heritage?
•Before developing indicators, be clear about
accountabilities – OUV, authenticity/integrity,
management/protection
•Think about audience, what information is for and
who will use it
•Be realistic about capacity to monitor and report on
indicators