Ecology and Land Use Planning

Our plan

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  Goals

  The Ecology and Land Use Planning Project aims to:

  • Identify where in the city it is important to rehabilitate, expand, or connect space for nature
  • Identify land use planning tools to protect natural and habitat areas and improve ecosystem health over time
  • Engage key partners in building ecological knowledge
  • Support our reconciliation efforts, including advancing actions under the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

  This work is expected to inform our Official Development Plan (ODP) as well as other city-wide strategies, policies, guidelines, and projects.

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  Progress

  Vancouver-wide ecological inventory

  As part of this work, we completed a Vancouver-wide inventory of terrestrial and marine ecosystems.

  We used a common “hub, sites, and corridor” ecological network approach to map land-based and shoreline vegetation and to classify and assess the functionality of habitat. We will use this information to refine a 2100 Ecological Vision.

  Though it is not possible to restore the level of biodiversity that existed prior to colonization, an ecological network approach:

  • Focuses resources to protect and restore the most critical areas in the city and provide increased access to nature, improving the health and well-being of residents
  • Supports the provision of ecosystem services such as cleaning water, sequestering carbon, regulating temperatures, and increasing resilience to climate change
  • Maximizes the value of the remaining natural areas in Vancouver
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  Next steps

  • Engage with First Nations, government agencies, and community organizations.
  • Refine the conceptual ecological network.
  • Draft updated ecology content for the Official Development Plan (ODP).
  • Develop an implementation plan to identify short-term actions for advancing the Ecological Network.