2011 COMMUNITY EXCELLENCE AWARDS
LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION
Category Worksheet
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Name of Local Government: CITY OF SURREY
Project/Program Title: SURREY ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT STUDY
Select Your Category: LEADERSHIP & INNOVATION, LARGE COMMUNITY
PROJECT SUMMARY
The Surrey Ecosystem Management Study or “EMS” provides a comprehensive set of up-todate ecosystem maps and management strategies for the City of Surrey. It identifies a network
of potential ecosystem Hubs, Sites and Corridors which are critical to the ecological function of
the entire City.
The EMS:
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Identifies, maps and prioritizes ecologically significant areas;
Targets opportunity areas for restoration, enhancement and increased connectivity of
the City’s Green Infrastructure Network “GIN”;
Delineates ecosystem management areas; and
Provides guidelines for green infrastructure and environmental policy development.
The Green Infrastructure Network categorizes opportunities for biodiversity as well as essential
‘free’ ecosystem services such as water treatment, flood protection and improved air quality. It
provides the framework for the future Surrey Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and informs a
range of important regulatory bylaws and policies including the Official Community Plan and
Tree Protection bylaw.
PROJECT ANALYSIS
1. ENVIRONMENT
The EMS provides the City of Surrey with a holistic ecosystem assessment to demonstrate how
ecosystem values may support and link with other local government priorities, such as healthy
lifestyles, population growth, flood protection, soil conservation, air and water quality, and
recreational opportunities. This assessment includes identification of important inter-regional
corridor connections to other adjacent municipalities; and highlights the interconnected
ecosystem health needs across the Metro Vancouver region. With one of the fastest growth
rates of any community in Canada, it is of critical importance to understand the interplay
between population growth and the ecosystem.
To help planners, City Council and developers better consider Surrey’s environment, the EMS:
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1. Identifies an ecologically‐based network of environmentally sensitive areas to protect
and sustain the City of Surrey’s biological resources (vegetation/habitat, fish, wildlife,
species at risk) and physical environment (surface water, aquifers, steep slopes);
2. Provides a gap analysis to identify breaks in ecological connectivity, areas of currently
unprotected high ecological significance and areas vulnerable to environmental
degradation, in order to establish priorities for future land acquisition, restoration, and
stewardship; and
3. Designates a set of environmental management areas (on both public and private lands)
and provides strategic recommendations for their long‐term management.
The continued ecological functioning of the Surrey Green Infrastructure Network depends on the
long-term protection of key elements from loss or degradation, as well as restoration and
enhancement to improve the functioning of the Green Infrastructure Network. To maximize the
effectiveness of protection and restoration efforts, the EMS helps prioritize management areas
based on the results of Green Infrastructure analysis.
The EMS also updates and informs several other plans and strategies in the City, including the
Official Community Plan, Parks Plan(s), and Tree protection bylaw.
2. PROCESS
The EMS proceeded in three phases, guided by a steering committee made up of key
interdepartmental staff members and representatives from local/regional senior government
agencies and community environmental groups. The process included extensive public
engagement, including several workshops with City Advisory Committees, land developers and
Environmental/Stewardship groups; followed by two public information meetings to review
Environmental Inventory maps and receive input on Ecosystem Management Areas and
strategies. A summary of the assessment process is shown in table 1 below.
Table 1
PHASE
STEP
STATUS
1. Review of Existing Environmental data:
PHASE I
Compile a
Complete
Picture of
Ecological
Landscape
Identify Surrey’s Green Infrastructure network by
collecting, reviewing and summarizing existing
environmental data.
Complete
2. Vegetation Mapping Assessment:
PHASE
II
Conduct Vegetation polygon mapping to classify all
natural and semi‐ natural vegetation across the City.
Define the
Importance of
Environmental
3. Delineation of the Green Infrastructure
Network: HUBS
Conduct GIS‐ based analysis to identify hubs, sites
Complete
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Management
Areas
and corridors. These GIS methods are supplemented
with more qualitative assessments of hub boundaries
and corridor integrity.
4. Delineation of the Green Infrastructure
Network: CORRIDORS
Detail process to define optimum connections
between hubs. Least‐ cost path analysis used to
determine the best ecological routes between hubs.
PHASE III
Ensure the
Vitality of
Environmental
Management
Areas
5. Green Infrastructure Network Evaluation:
Evaluate the components of Green Infrastructure
Network, by developing a scoring system that
assesses the relative ecological significance of
different hubs and potential corridors. The scoring
system assigns a composite “ecological significance
score” out of 100.
Complete
6. Ecosystem Management Strategies:
Framework for Implementing EMS
Develop management strategies and policy framework
that assists Surrey in achieving the GIN over time, and
includes examples of ecosystem management
approaches for on the ground administration.
3. RELEVANCE
Ecosystem management represents an evolving approach to managing natural environmental
values. Rather than managing multiple environmental values independently, an ecosystembased approach focuses on the collective management of all assets—maintaining ecological
integrity while allowing opportunity for sustainable urban growth and development. This
approach seeks to ensure the developing co-existence of healthy, connected, fully functioning
ecosystems and human communities and development which are sustained by those
ecosystems.
In one of the most rapidly growing communities in British Columbia, the Ecosystem
Management strategy, allows for successful land use planning that is:
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More proactive and less reactive;
More systematic and less haphazard;
Multifunctional, not single purpose;
Large scale, not small scale; and
Better integrated with other efforts to manage growth and development.
A key aspect of the Green Infrastructure is its inter-regional (cross-border) approach to urban
land conservation and connections. This approach helps stitch together hubs and sites beyond
jurisdictional boundaries and allows full consideration of environmental values throughout the
region.
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While standard Environmental Sensitive Area “ESA” approaches, used by most Municipalities,
focus on the protection of existing priority areas (such as riparian areas, wooded slopes and
riparian areas); the Surrey Ecosystem Management approach recognizes that all parts of the
City may help contribute to the ecological sustainability of the City. It stresses that the ultimate
goal of environmental policy is the preservation and enhancement of ecosystem function and
biodiversity, and not just the protection of certain landscape features.
4. LEADERSHIP
The EMS provides visionary leadership within Metro Vancouver by creating a model of how to
strategically map, plan and manage an integrated Green Infrastructure Network of natural lands,
urbanized areas and working lands, such as the agricultural areas and other open spaces,
within a regional ecosystem. The EMS goes beyond its own city boundaries to identify
ecosystem corridor connection opportunities in neighboring jurisdictions, such as Langley, New
Westminster, White Rock, Delta, Pitt Meadows and Whatcom County USA.
The Ecosystem Services approach expands the planning focus beyond how development
affects the local environment to include how development is dependent on a functioning interregional ecosystem and a city wide Green Infrastructure Network. In addition to focusing on
how to protect significant ecosystems, the City may now prioritize how and where to invest in
managing ecosystem development and enhancement of the Green Infrastructure Network (GIN)
over time, based on details such as ownership, land use, and ecosystem type.
Planning and implementation of future development using an EMS approach provides for a
more constant integrated ecosystem approach to neighborhood planning, along with an
assessment of ecosystem values and enhancement priorities in concert with land development,
growth management, and infrastructure planning. The EMS identifies how City Planning can be
done in a way that is complementary to the design of leading urban communities and meets the
goals of Surreys Sustainability Charter, the Official Community Plan and other city
environmental policies.
5. ECONOMICS
a. How was the project a good use of budget and resources?
The EMS was conducted on a modest budget of approximately $100,000, but provides a level
of certainty on ecosystem values in the entire city that significantly reduces potential for
development conflict.
The EMS provides a comprehensive high level set of maps covering the whole city which helps
reduce the need to produce maps at the local level during development, and reduces individual
secondary plan environmental assessment costs. It provides the ability to update mapping
easily and efficiently without excess cost of replicating mapping over time, in a fully digital GIS
form.
b. How does the project encourage economic sustainability?
Haphazard development often increases the cost of public services by requiring huge
investments in new roads, sewers, schools and other public infrastructure. As environmental
problems grow alongside consumption, pollution and population levels, it becomes increasingly
clear that city budgets have impacts on the natural environment.
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It is now widely agreed that many of our environmental problems arise as 'negative externalities'
of an economic system which takes for granted — and thus undervalues — many aspects of the
environment. Clean air and clean water are but two examples of goods which go largely
unvalued today. Unless economic concerns are integrated with social and environmental
considerations, sustainable development that treats future generations equitably will remain
elusive.
The Ecosystem Management Study therefore helps decision makers evaluate both the
economic and environmental costs and benefits of development. The process of identifying and
quantifying ecosystem areas as early as possible is recognized as a valuable tool for the
efficient allocation of resources and development planning in a rapidly growing community.
Instead of reacting to development, City Council can now use the EMS inventory to forecast and
help prioritize how and where to invest in managing ecosystem development and encourage the
enhancement of the Green Infrastructure Network before major development pressure arises.
Green infrastructure offers a smart solution to our land conservation challenges because it
seeks to plan land development and land conservation together in a way that is consistent with
natural environmental patterns. In doing this, green infrastructure promotes both smart growth
and smart conservation in an efficient and cost effective manner.
6. SUSTAINABILITY
The Ecosystem Management Study implements the vision of Surrey’s Sustainability Charter
with regard to the Environmental Pillars direction to demonstrate good stewardship of the
terrestrial habitat, aquatic habitat, air, the built environment, by protecting, preserving and
enhancing Surrey’s natural areas and ecosystems for current and future generations.
“Green infrastructure” is rapidly gaining ground in land use planning, engineering, and site
design locally, provincially and at the national level. Green infrastructure provides a critical
underlying foundation to support the function and quality of communities and provides many
social, economic and environmental benefits close to where people live and work while also
supporting the function of ecological systems.
In addition, the services of our ecological systems and the natural capital stocks that they
produce are critical to our long term Social and Economic well being. Ecosystem goods (such
as food) and services (such as waste assimilation and air/water purification) represent just a few
of the many social and economic benefits, directly or indirectly, to the city and its growing
population.
7. INNOVATION
Ecosystem planning has been touted for its ability to enhance the legitimacy, efficiency, and
effectiveness of the planning process in many regions. However, most applications of this
planning approach so far have been in rural, wilderness, or resource contexts.
The Surrey EMS provides a ground-breaking urban approach to ecosystem planning that
encourages connectivity and overall functionality of Ecosystems through potential corridors. The
EMS approach encourages a planning framework for managing City development growth in
concert with ecosystem growth.
The Ecosystem Management Study approach distinguishes itself from conventional
environmental planning approaches based on the following principles:
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Principle 1: Bases management areas on natural boundaries;
Principle 2: Designs with nature;
Principle 3: Considers regional and cumulative effects;
Principle 4: Encourages interdepartmental and interjurisdictional decision-making;
Principle 5: Ensures consultation and facilitate cooperation and partnering;
Principle 6: Initiates long-term monitoring, feedback and adaptation of plans;
Principle 7: Adopts an interdisciplinary approach to information.
Green infrastructure planning also differs from conventional approaches to land use planning
and environmental management because it looks at conservation values and enhancement
actions in concert with land development, growth management, and built infrastructure planning.
Unlike traditional Environmental Sensitive Areas ESA mapping, the EMS Green Infrastructure
Network approach emphasizes the spatial relationships between natural and semi‐natural areas
within the landscape and their important functional role in landscape processes, such as
sustaining natural flows of water, nutrients, and energy.
Key to the EMS method is the identification of hubs, the largest intact areas of naturally‐
functioning ecosystems, and connecting corridors, which provide physical or functional linkages
between hubs of similar or different ecosystem types. This approach also takes into account the
role of natural ecosystems as habitat and movement corridors for biodiversity and in providing
environmental services such as clean water and air, flood protection, and slope stability for a
growing population.
8. TRANSFERABILITY
The Green Infrastructure Network approach used in the Surrey EMS may be easily replicated in
identifying priorities for environmental management in other urban jurisdictions at both large and
small scales.
The analysis used for the EMS vegetation inventory used a modified version of the U.S.
National Vegetation Classification for an urban context to classify all natural and semi‐natural
vegetation across the City. The USNVC was selected as the best standardized approach for
mapping vegetation in Surrey and is used by the BC Conservation Data Centre and Nature
Serve (the North American conservation data management system). Any future data collected
on ecological communities can be used for regional conservation planning.
The science based methods used to create the Surrey Ecosystem Management Study GIN can
be reproduced to create the same consistent mapping outputs found in the Surrey EMS, but
with Management Policies and Strategies to fit each Municipality’s unique circumstances.
9. KNOWLEDGE SHARING
Ecosystem-based management planning is inherently long term in nature, spanning time frames
that extend well beyond those of most political regimes. This in itself can be a barrier to Green
Infrastructure Planning, as political turnover can affect policy environments, funding stability,
land and resource planning, and on-the-ground practices. Therefore, policy-makers considering
an Ecosystem Management approach must consider flexible and adaptive policies that
recognize the long-term nature of ecosystem health.
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Some key recommendations to municipal managers and policy makers to consider when
developing an Ecosystem Management plan include:
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Developing policies that recognize the long-term nature of ecosystem management
projects;
Developing land acquisition programs that prioritize high value ecosystems;
Focusing on key local scientific stakeholder outreach and involvement;
Using pilot approaches to demonstrate the EMS approach and show early success;
Ensuring that ecosystem planning bodies have, or are supported by, sufficient authority
to ensure implementation;
Collecting baseline information and establish monitoring programs;
Increasing pressure to recognize and address many entrenched attitudes and practices,
including those concerning private property and proper relations between private rights
and public goods; and
Setting realistic timelines for achieving both ecological and process outcomes over time.
10. TELL US MORE
The citywide ecosystem inventory mapping focuses on four main elements of Surrey’s
landscape to make up the Green Infrastructure Network. These elements consist of ecosystem
Hubs, Sites, and Corridors, as well as the remaining urban lands called the Matrix.
Hubs are defined as contiguous areas of ecological importance at least 10 ha in size, while
Sites are smaller areas of natural or semi‐natural vegetation between 0.25 and 10 ha in size.
Corridors are considered the best ecological routes between hubs with 50 meters on each side
for a total width of 100 meter width.
Within the GIN, the existing and potential ecologically valuable opportunity areas include several
environmental layers, including:
Map 1 - Aquifers, Slope, Watershed and Sub-watersheds;
Map 2 - Known Sensitive Species Occurrences and Habits;
Map 3 – Vegetation Inventory, based on classification of all natural and semi-natural
vegetation across the City;
Map 4 – Relative Naturalness, taking into account history and frequency of disturbance;
Map 5 – Relative Impedance, taking into account ease of movement of natural process
across the landscape;
Map 6 – Green Infrastructure Opportunities, including candidate areas for ecological
enhancement and restoration (Hubs/Sites/Corridors/Matrix);
Map 7 – Ecological Significance of Hubs, calculated out of 100 using 12 metrics that
characterize the function and integrity of each hub;
Map 8 – Sites Inside and Outside of Corridors; to identify stepping stone opportunities
within the GIN;
Map 9 – Ecological Significance of Corridors, calculated out of 100 using 12 metrics that
characterize the function and integrity of each corridor;
Map 10 – Ownership of Green Infrastructure Network, including private, public and
government holdings of Hubs in the GIN.
Many of the EMS layers are included on the city of Surrey online and internal COSMOS map, to
make pertinent parts of the ecological inventory readily available as a resource for the public,
City staff, and Council.
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