British Columbia has a progressive legislative framework that protects farmland and governs the Agricultural Land Reserve.  On this basis, one might assume that farmland in BC would be protected strongly and equally among all local jurisdictions.  This is not the case.  The state of agricultural land use planning to protect farmland in northern BC is of moderate strength overall, with significant differences among and within the Regional Districts.  The diversity of approaches makes for an interesting mix of policies that deal with the typical pressures of urban development and non-farm uses, as well as the pressures of natural resource developments, such as forestry and oil and gas.  In this presentation I will discuss the state of farmland protection in northern BC by drawing upon four principles of land use planning:  maximise stability, integrate public priorities across jurisdictions, minimise uncertainty, and accommodate flexibility.  Project website: http://blogs.unbc.ca/agplanning/

The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Presentations are also made available to remote participants through Livestream or Blackboard Elluminate. More information will be posted about the presentation as it becomes available.

Past NRESi colloquia and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.