| Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) planning and management is a rapidly developing policy field in the Province of Ontario. It has been concentrated at the municipal planning level in Ontario with a particularly strong relationship to the policy planning of Regional governments.;The relevant theories of planning, environmental planning, island biogeography, economics, technology and law are presented to serve as a basis for the understanding of natural areas and their planning.;The existing state of practice for ESA planning and management in a municipality is outlined. Restoration of derelict lands to ESA status is presented as a long-term goal to complement the goal of protecting extant areas. The results of a study involving the inventory and delineation of the ESA's in three townships in Brant County are presented. Case studies on the inventory and management of three ESA's, with quite different ecological and planning circumstances, highlight the types of issues that ESA management might encounter.;In order to facilitate ESA planning and management in Onatrio a set of recommendations are made for legal and institutional change. Emphasis is placed on amendments to a number of Provincial Acts including: the Provincial Parks Act, the Planning Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, and the Conservation Authorities Act. A method is presented, based on mapping scales, that would enable differentiation amongst the various levels of jurisdiction. A number of subjects for research are discussed.;The policies and programs dealing with natural area planning and management at the Federal, Provincial, Regional, Municipal and Private levels are reviewed. At each of these levels the societal attitudes towards natural phenomena are a component of the decision-making process. The results of studies on societal attitudes towards natural phenomena and ESA's are presented and discussed. The ability of citizens to meaningfully interact with the decision-making process in environmental management is discussed and recommendations are made. |
