Environmental planning
- Protected area management & policy
- Formulation of guidelines, policies & action plans
- Compliance with legislation & limitation of liabilities
Capabilities
Environmental planning has formed the core of ERA work since establishment ten years ago. Much of this work has focused on development of plans and strategies for protected areas, especially in the Antarctic. This has involved working on scientific and technical issues together with field scientists, logistics personnel, and agency environmental managers. Usually, ERA drafts environmental policies through this collaborative approach, and advice is provided on policy options. ERA then coordinates a consultation process among stakeholders, through which policies are further developed and refined. Draft environmental plans and advice are then provided for politicians and diplomats to broker consensus agreements on site management by all parties at the international level. In the Antarctic Treaty context, this necessitates agreement among all 28 decision-making countries. Recognising that achieving consensus in this context can be fraught with difficulty, ERA pays a lot of attention to careful and detailed analyses of issues and policies well in advance of offering alternatives for consideration.
Of necessity, the decision on which policies are taken forward remains the responsibility of the client. It is notable, however, that every environmental plan that ERA has developed for these clients has been adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Parties by consensus without any significant modifications. ERA staff have worked on the management plans for around half of the protected areas adopted by the Antarctic Treaty, and this record demonstrates the reliability of the advice and products that ERA is able to offer.
Environmental policy work has usually been coupled with map development. The maps are designed specifically to support the environmental plans, and enable users to interpret policies and features easily - whether in the field, at the international diplomatic table, or in the boardroom!
ERA would be pleased to discuss whether we can assist you with needs you might have in this field.
