The Ministry of Environment and Parks is a ministry of the

government of British Columbia The Government of British Columbia () is the body responsible for the administration of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The term ''Government of British Columbia'' can refer to either the collective set of all three institutions, or mo ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The ministry is responsible for the effective protection, management and conservation of the province's

natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

s. It is currently overseen by

Tamara Davidson Tamara Davidson (also known by her Haida name Laanas) is a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA), representing the electoral district of North Coast-Haida Gwaii as a member of the BC New Democratic Party. A member of the ...

History

Department of Lands and Works (1871-1908)

The "Department of Lands and Works" was established under the Constitution Act in 1871 following the admission of the

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: * Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) * Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also * History of ...

to the

Dominion of Canada While a variety of theories have been postulated for the name of Canada, its origin is now accepted as coming from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word , meaning 'village' or 'settlement'. In 1535, indigenous inhabitants of the present-day Quebec C ...

. The department was responsible for the management of

Crown land Crown land, also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. Today, in Commonwealth realm ...

s, surveying and mapping of Crown lands, construction and maintenance of

public services A public service or service of general (economic) interest is any service (economics), service intended to address the needs of aggregate members of a community, whether provided directly by a public sector agency, via public financing availab ...

, and encouragement of European settlement.

Department of Lands (1908-1945)

In 1908, the department was disestablished with an amendment to the Constitution Act and its functions were divided between the newly formed "Department of Lands" and "Department of Public Works", of which the former is the ancestor to the current ministry. The Department of Lands was responsible for the management of Crown lands, surveying and mapping of Crown lands, timber inspection, forest protection, and

water right Water right in water law is the right of a user to use water from a water source, e.g., a river, stream, pond or source of groundwater. In areas with plentiful water and few users, such systems are generally not complicated or contentious. In ot ...

s management with respect to mining operations. The Department of Lands was notable for overseeing the founding of British Columbia's first

provincial park Ischigualasto Provincial Park A provincial park (or territorial park) is a park administered by one of the provinces of a country, as opposed to a national park. They are similar to state parks in other countries. They are typically open to the ...

Strathcona Provincial Park Strathcona Provincial Park is the oldest provincial park in British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rock ...

, in 1911.

Department of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources (1945-1974)

In 1945, the "Department of Lands" was re-established as the "Department of Lands and Forests". It was responsible for the management of all public lands, administration of water rights, and land settlement programs for returning soldiers. The department was renamed the "Department of Lands, Forests, and Water Resources" in 1962 following its reorganization into its three namesake branches: the B.C. Lands Service, B.C. Forest Service, and B.C. Water Resources Service. It retained the same responsibilities as its predecessor until the disestablishment of the department in 1975.

Ministry of Environment (1975-2017)

In 1975, the "Ministry of Environment" was established by an

order in council An Order in Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom, this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...

under its first name: "Department of Environment". The original functions of the Department of Environment were transferred from the "Department of Lands, Forests and Water Resources", whose functions had been split between the "Ministry of Environment" and "Ministry of Forests". The department was responsible for the management and protection of land, air and water resources including Crown lands (except for matters under the jurisdiction of the Department of Forests), water rights, and pollution control. The department was divided into three branches: land and water management, environmental and engineering services, and environmental protection. Later in 1976, the Dept. of Environment was renamed the "Ministry of the Environment". In 1978, a major government reorganization transferred functions relating to lands and parks from the "Ministry of the Environment" to the newly established "Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing". At the same time, the "Ministry of the Environment" gained functions relating to marine resources and wildlife (from the former Ministry of Recreation and Conservation), environmental health (from the Ministry of Health), and emergency programming (from the Ministry of Provincial Secretary and Travel Industry). The reorganized "Ministry of the Environment" was divided into four branches: Land and Water Management, Environmental and Engineering Services, Environmental Protection, and Environment and Land Use Secretariat. The name was revised as just the "Ministry of Environment" the following year. In 1986, the parks function from the "Ministry of Lands, Parks and Housing", was merged with the Ministry of Environment. As a result of this addition to its functions, the Ministry of Environment became known as the "Ministry of Environment and Parks". In 1988, the park function was removed and transferred to the newly established "Ministry of Parks". As a result, the name was reverted to the Ministry of Environment. In 1991, the Ministry of Environment was disestablished and its functions were merged with those of the "Ministry of Lands and Parks" to create a new ministry called the "Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks". The successor to this ministry was the "Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection", existing from 2001 to 2005. The successor to this was the "Ministry of Environment", existing from 2005 to 2016. Throughout all of these successive name changes and restructurings, the ministry had retained the same functional responsibilities since 1991.

Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy (2017-2024)

Following the

2017 British Columbia general election The 2017 British Columbia general election was held on May 9, 2017, to elect 87 Member of the Legislative Assembly, members (MLAs) to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 41st Parliament of British Co ...

, the ministry was renamed the "Ministry of Environment & Climate Change Strategy" with an emphasis on directly addressing the issue of

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

in the province.

Ministry of Environment & Parks (2024-present)

Following the

2024 British Columbia general election The 2024 British Columbia general election was held on October 19, 2024, to elect 93 members (MLAs) of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Legislative Assembly to serve in the 43rd parliament of the Provinces and territories of Cana ...

, the ministry was renamed the "Ministry of Environment & Parks", led by

Operating units

Southern Boundary Signs for Wrinkly Face Provincial Park

The Ministry of Environment and Parks manages several secondary agencies: *

BC Parks BC Parks is an Government agency, agency of the British Columbia British Columbia Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy that manages all of the, as of 2020, 1,035 List of British C ...

: designates and manages

protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...

throughout the province. * BC Wildfire Service: coordinates

wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfir ...

efforts throughout the province. *Climate Action Secretariat: monitors environmental impact of provincial activities and coordinates the planning and implementation of adaptive measures in response to climate change * Conservation Officer Service: enforces the environmental protection policies of British Columbia and Canada within the province. *

Environmental Assessment Office The Environmental Assessment Office is a Crown Agency of the provincial government of British Columbia, Canada. Its mandate is to coordinate assessments of major development proposals in British Columbia. It reports to the provincial Minister of En ...

: coordinates and assesses the

environmental impact Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...

of major development proposals in the province.

Legislation

CleanBC

In December 2018, Premier

John Horgan John Joseph Horgan (August 7, 1959 – November 12, 2024) was a Canadian politician and diplomat who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022 and the ambassador of Canada to Germany from 2023 to 2024. He led the Briti ...

's NDP party and

Andrew Weaver Andrew John Weaver is a Canadian scientist and former politician who represented the riding of Oak Bay-Gordon Head from 2013 to 2020 in the British Columbia Legislative Assembly. Weaver was the leader of the Green Party of British Columbia fr ...

's Green party jointly announced CleanBC, a plan that would reach 75% of the province's greenhouse gas

emissions target A climate target, climate goal or climate pledge is a measurable long-term commitment for Politics of climate change, climate policy and energy policy with the aim of Limiting climate change, limiting the climate change. Researchers within, am ...

. The plan is designed to reduce emissions 40% by the year 2030, compared to 2007 levels. Most of the plan's funding is projected to come from BC's

carbon tax A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden Social cost of carbon, social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emis ...

. For buildings, the BC Building Code was amended to make all buildings “

net zero Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...

energy ready” by 2032, the natural gas grid must contain 15% RNG and the province will assist in funding efficiency upgrades. For industry, the government agreed to help fund clean energy firms while improving the efficiency of existing manufacturing and fossil fuel operations. For transportation, all new cars sold from 2040 onward must be a

zero-emissions vehicle A zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) is a vehicle that does not emit exhaust gas or other pollutants from the onboard source of power. The California definition also adds that this includes under any and all possible operational modes and conditions. T ...

, with other vehicle types being subject to stricter emissions regulation. For waste, the goals outlined in the plan are to divert 95% of

biodegradable waste Biodegradable waste includes any organic matter in waste which can be broken down into carbon dioxide, water, methane, compost, humus, and simple organic molecules by micro-organisms and other living things by composting, aerobic digestion, ana ...

from landfills and capture 75% of landfill emissions.

Water Sustainability Act

The Water Sustainability Act (WSA) was enacted on February 29, 2016 to ensure and manage the sustainable supply, diversion, and use of water in BC. It includes changes on: * "Licensing groundwater for non-domestic use * New fees and rentals for water use * Stronger protection for aquatic ecosystems * Expanding protection of groundwater related to well construction and maintenance * Increasing dam safety and awareness."

Recycling Regulation

In 2011, the British Columbia announced plans to transfer the cost of recycling for packaging and printed paper from municipal governments to product manufactures. The non-for-profit Recycle BC began operations on May 11, 2014, to fulfill the collection and recycling of these goods on behalf of these companies. As of December 2018, British Columbia had 17

extended producer responsibility Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a strategy to add all of the estimated environmental costs associated with a product throughout the product life cycle to the market price of that product, contemporarily mainly applied in the field of ...

categories.

Fish farming

References

{{Government of British Columbia British Columbia government departments and agencies Environmental protection agencies

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...