SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY

Progress Report on  2001-2003 Strategy

Executive Summary

DFO plays a leading role in ensuring the sustainable development and safe use of Canadian waters for the benefit of all Canadians. This means that environmental, economic and social considerations are integral parts of departmental decision making.

Recognizing that aquatic resource development must be undertaken carefully to safeguard the ability of future generations to meet their needs, DFO works with others to derive economic and social benefits from Canada's oceans and freshwater resources while conserving the ecological integrity of those resources. For example, through its regional offices and various consultation mechanisms, DFO works closely with other federal government departments, provincial and territorial governments, Aboriginal groups, the national and international scientific community and other stakeholders.

In 2001, DFO released its second SDS. This strategy, entitled Building Awareness and Capacity: An Action Plan for Continued Sustainable Development 2001-2003, had five goals:

• ensuring the sustainable use of marine and freshwater resources and ecosystems through new forms of governance and shared stewardship;
• supporting improved decision making through better knowledge of the nature and use of marine and freshwater resources and ecosystems;
• improving the application of knowledge and new technologies to support the sustainable and safe use of marine and freshwater resources;
• reducing negative physical environmental impacts associated with departmental operations; and
• developing a management system to track progress and performance of the SDS.

Associated with these goals are 41 planned activities, each specifying what DFO intends to do, deliver or produce. Since the release of this strategy, DFO has made significant progress on these planned activities: 36 have been achieved or are on their way to being achieved. Highlights of DFO's progress include the following:

• Establishing co-management agreements in 31 fisheries. This exceeded the planned target of 25. In these agreements, DFO and stakeholders work together to achieve collaborative fisheries management.
• Purchasing and deploying 91 oceanographic floats. This was accomplished with support from the Climate Change Action Plan 2000 fund and was part of an international initiative to improve understanding of the ocean/atmosphere climate system and the role of oceans in climate change.
• Providing leadership in the development of a national system of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Canada. This included designating the Endeavour Hydrothermal Vents as an MPA to strengthen the conservation and protection of oceans ecosystems.
• Increasing stakeholder involvement in the delivery of marine services. Over 200 new partnerships were created in areas such as aids to navigation and boating safety.

In November 2002, DFO initiated a comprehensive departmental review called the Departmental Assessment and Alignment Project, or DAAP. The purpose of this review is to secure DFO's financial stability for the future, strengthen the Department's management practices and renew its policies and programs.

The overarching objective of the DAAP is "to strengthen the Department's ability to work with Canadians to ensure the sustainable development and safe use of Canadian waters." The DAAP has therefore been guided by principles that support sustainable development: integrated resource management, partnerships, the concept of the public good, and risk management and precaution. Throughout the DAAP, DFO has reconfirmed and strengthened its commitment to sustainable development as a core underpinning of all its programs and services. The DAAP will set the stage for the renewal of DFO's Strategic Plan, its new Planning, Reporting and Accountability Structure (PRAS) and the Department's next SDS.

In the normal course of events, DFO would now be tabling its third SDS. However, mainly because of the DAAP, DFO has decided to issue a progress report on its 2001-2003 SDS at this time. Following the completion of the DAAP, DFO's Strategic Plan and PRAS will be renewed, and a comprehensive new SDS will be developed and tabled in 2004-2005. This decision, made in consultation with the Office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD), ensures that DFO's new SDS will be fully aligned with the Department's change agenda, its new Strategic Plan and its renewed PRAS.

Strengthened by DFO's renewed policy and program direction, the next SDS will set forth commitments that are consistent with DFO's vision to "work with Canadians to ensure the sustainable development and safe use of Canadian waters."