Assessing the impact of human activities on British Columbia's estuaries

The world's marine and coastal ecosystems are under threat and single-sector management efforts have failed to address those threats. Scientific consensus suggests that management should evolve to focus on ecosystems and their human, ecological, and physical components. Estuaries are recognized globally as one of the world's most productive and most threatened ecosystems and many estuarine areas in British Columbia (BC) have been lost or degraded. To help prioritize activities and areas for management efforts at a regional scale, spatial information on human activities that adversely affect BC estuaries was compiled. Using statistical analyses, estuaries were assigned to groups facing related threats that could benefit from similar management. The relationships between estuaries, their biological importance, and their protected status were examined. This research is timely as it will inform ongoing marine planning efforts as well as land acquisition and stewardship activities undertaken by organizations such as the Pacific Estuary Conservation Program.