October 12, 2001 For Immediate Release

The University of Northern British Columbia and the University of Dundee, Scotland, are co-sponsoring an international planning symposium at UNBC on Monday, October 22. Speakers from both universities will present research results along with others engaged in land use planning and economic development in northern BC.

"When we look at small and medium-sized communities in northern BC, there are many similarities with other rural regions," says John Curry, Acting Chair of UNBC's Environmental Studies program. "The theme of the symposium is the application of a new methodology for incorporating sustainable community and regional development objectives into land use and economic development planning in regions such as ours."

Sustainability Appraisal - as the new methodology is called - evaluates development policies, plans and programs to determine their contribution to economic, social and environmental sustainability. The aim of sustainability appraisal is to deliver a set of effective development initiatives that look to the future wellbeing of communities and rural regions, by securing long-term economic and social improvements in their quality of life within the environment's carrying capacity.

Research papers presented at the conference will focus on northern development:
· Sustainability of northern BC Official Community Plans
· State-of-sustainability reporting in British Columbia
· The role of the Northern Development Commission in promoting sustainable economic development
· Zero waste approaches to northern sustainability
· Two papers on the use of sustainability appraisal in the Scottish Highlands and Islands.

The symposium marks an early stage in an ongoing joint research project between land use planning professors in UNBC and the University of Dundee in Scotland. This is part of a faculty exchange agreement between the two universities, which has already seen a number of students taking part of their planning degree in the other university.