Sustainable Resource and Environmental Management: A Unique Alberta CrossMinistry Collaboration

1
Sustainable Resource and Environmental
Management A Unique Alberta Cross-Ministry
Collaboration

• Bill Calder
• Director, Environmental Relations
• MSWG 10th Annual Workshop
• June 19, 2007

2
Prelude a growing Sustainable Development
commitment

• June, 1992 unanimous Legislature endorsement of
  sustainable development vision
• 1992 Cross-ministry Deputy Ministers
  Sustainable Development Coordinating Council
  created under legislation
• March 1999 Government releases Albertas
  Commitment to Sustainable Resource and
  Environmental Management

3
Challenges to Alberta Environmental Management

• Rapid development and population growth
• Public expectations of overall environmental
  quality beyond the direct control of any one
  department
• Unsustainable workloads limits on additional
  resources
• Interrelationships among issues and initiatives

4
The formal SREM Collaboration

• DMs of Energy, Environment and Sustainable
  Resource Development began co-chairing the SDCC
• In 2005 began a fuller and deeper collaboration
  aimed at cross-cutting Sustainable Resource and
  Environmental Management (SREM)

5
What is SREM?

• A way of thinking and acting working together
  and taking joint responsibility to achieve agreed
  upon natural resource and environmental outcomes
• With SREM, departments
• Better integrate their policies
• Better align info systems and share info
• Better align and improve regulatory processes

6
Based on a systems view of environmental
management
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Underpinned by SREM Principles

• Systems approach
• Stewardship
• Government wide vision, goals
• Shared responsibility with Albertans
• Place-based approaches
• Flexible tools and incentives
• Continuous improvement

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3-Dept. Commitment
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Driven at the top

• Bi-weekly SREM Ministers and DMs meetings
• Joint meetings Executive Committee meetings
• A cross-ministry SREM Office
• Common items in SREM DMs performance contracts
• SREM Strategic Plan being developed

10
Substantial collaborative Activity

• Land use framework (7 depts lead)
• Information sharing
• Upstream oil and gas policy integration
• Learning and best practices from pilot projects
• E.g. coal bed methane
• Integrated policy framework

11
Successes

• Very effective DMs collaboration
• Progress on specific initiatives, e.g.
• Pilot information sharing on place basis complete
• Land Use Framework under development and on time
• SREM approach is becoming well understood and
  increasingly accepted by staff

12
Challenges

• Overcoming departmental differences
• In culture
• In approaches to stakeholders
• Broad commitment from all staff
• Silo mentality is persistent with some
• Maintaining SREM momentum through electoral
  changes and changes in DMs

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Conclusion

• SREM has altered the way Alberta Environment, SRD
  and Energy work together for the better
• SREM is entrenched enough, that return to
  previous status quo is unlikely
• Renewal and re-energizing SREM in the light of
  new understandings will be needed to maintain
  its influence
• An important collaborative precedent has been set
  with SREM