The western province of British Columbia amended its Agricultural Land Reserve last year to allow for more development on farmland.

The western province of British Columbia amended its Agricultural Land Reserve last year to allow for more development on farmland.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Flickr, Steve Olmstead

Scientist calls for protection of farm, green land

More than half the people on earth live in urban areas, and providing for their needs gobbles up farmland, forests, wetlands and other ecosystems, warns David Suzuki, a Canadian scientist and prominent environmentalist.

More jurisdictions are enacting strong land-use policies to protect farmland and green space, notes Suzuki, applauding plans like the one enacted by the province of Ontario. That plan is up for review and politicians are under pressure to amend it to allow more development. Interested parties are invited to comment online.

Farmland disappearing fast

Almost half of Canada’s urban areas are located on land that was farmed only a few generations ago, says Suzuki. He urges governments to establish more so-called greenbelt protection rules and to encourage cities to grow upwards rather than outwards.

‘Canada’s towns and cities…at a crossroads’

Research by the David Suzuki Foundation suggests Ontario’s greenbelt farmland and green spaces generates more than $9 billion in annual revenue to local economies, producing fruit, vegetables, meat and wine. It also estimates the greenbelt provides “an estimated $2.6 billion annually in non-market benefits such as water filtration by watersheds.”

Suzuki says Canada’s towns and cities are at a crossroads, and asks Canadians to consider what kind of cities they want.

Categories: Economy, Environment & Animal Life, Politics, Society
Tags:

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.