The Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry is moving towards greater involvement of landowners in environmental protection with the hiring of a full-time coordinator for a province-wide Alternate Land Use Services Program (ALUS).
ALUS is a voluntary program, based on incentives, that recognizes farmers for the contributions they make to clean air and water, to protection of water quality, and to biodiversity. ALUS pilot programs have already met with success near Blanchard, Manitoba and in Norfolk County (near Hamilton) Ontario.
“Few people have as much influence on Prince Edward Island’s environment as our rural landowners do. They are at the front-lines in protecting our streams and in preserving the quality of our groundwater, sometimes at a substantial cost. An Alternate Land Use Services (ALUS) Program is a way in which society can recognize and reward the environmental services it gets from farmers and landowners,” said George Webster, Minister of Environment, Energy and Forestry.
Shawn Hill, an employee of the Department of Environment, Energy and Forestry, has been selected to coordinate the province-wide ALUS effort on behalf of government. He brings over nine years of experience as a watershed coordinator in the Department’s water management division.
Hill will work on developing incentive programs that reward landowners and farmers who adopt management practices that protect wild areas and watersheds.
Minister Webster said he thinks the ALUS approach will yield benefits for the environment and for property owners.
“Government has legislated minimum environmental standards in many areas and we will continue to uphold and to strengthen those minimums. What the ALUS program does is give government a way to encourage farmers and others to move beyond the minimum requirements and to undertake activities that can protect the environment and improve water resources for years to come,” said the Minister.
BACKGROUNDER
Alternate Land Use Services Coordinator Hired
What is ALUS ?
ALUS refers to Alternate Land Use Services (ALUS).
ALUS is an incentive-based approach for the conservation and protection of key environmental assets and services on PEI. The PEI ALUS Program seeks to reward landowners for public environmental benefits. The benefits of ALUS to PEI include clean water, improved flood control, fish and wildlife habitat conservation and carbon sequestration among others. The principle of ALUS is that it seeks to reward landowners when the public benefits are in excess of existing government regulations.
The program is entirely voluntary.
What kind of assistance is available?
The PEI ALUS Program would reward landowners in a variety of ways including financial payments, tax breaks or other options.
Since the PEI ALUS Program has not been finalized yet, the types of activities that will receive assistance have not been determined yet. Islanders from various backgrounds, including forestry, agriculture, construction, tourism and the shellfish industry, are working on a committee to develop and determine the types of assistance the PEI ALUS Program will provide.
Does this Program replace legislated land use restrictions?
The ALUS Program does not replace legislated land use regulations; rather, ALUS will seek to support activities that go beyond the regulations.
How long will the program run?
The ALUS Program will run until March 31, 2009 at which time the program success will be evaluated.