Overview
Through the Land-use Framework, the Government of Alberta has committed to regional planning and addressing cumulative impacts on the environment, and to managing social, economic and environmental realities and priorities in an integrated way.
Regional plans developed with Albertans and approved by government will integrate provincial policies at the regional level, set out regional outcomes and objectives and provide the context for land use decision-making within the region, reflecting the uniqueness of the landscape and priorities of each region.
Cumulative effects management is not limited to the scale of regional plans, it can be more localized and therefore requires integration amongst spatial scales:
- provincial
- regional
- sub-regional
- local
- site-specific
The department is committed to leading and supporting the environmental and resource management elements of regional plans under the Land-use Framework. This work includes:
- identifying key environmental and resource management issues
- working with others to identify environmental objectives, indicators, and thresholds for the indicators through the development of environmental management frameworks
- understanding current states through regional assessments
- developing sub-regional integrated or issue specific plans as a means to implement regional plans and address specific issues or conflicts in an area