Georgian Bay and area with its
stunning natural scenery and its expanding network of hiking and biking trails
and waterways is ripe for shaping an ecotourism economy that lends itself to
sustainability and attracting investment while providing green jobs for
Ontarians for generations to come. It’s time to consider both the private and
social benefits of managing our natural heritage while creating a sustainable
local economy based on ecotourism.
One of our biggest treasures
is the Minesing Wetlands.
The Minesing Wetlands is
internationally recognized as an area of unique biological diversity and
ecological importance. This natural treasure is recognized under the Ramsar Convention
which is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable
utilization of wetlands, recognizing the fundamental ecological functions of
wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value. It
is also recognized as a Provincially Significant Wetland and a Provincially
Significant Life Science Area of Natural and Scientific Interest in our
province of Ontario.
It is currently threatened by
overdevelopment in the form of urban sprawl, and flooding exacerbated by global
warming effects. It has suffered degradation from logging, land recovery,
farming and drainage practices that date back to the 1800s and is a product of
the management systems that have been put in place to protect it over the last
few decades. The Minesing Wetlands boasts the largest and most diverse wetland
complexes in Southern Ontario and is known in some circles as the Costa Rica of
Ontario for its bio-diversity. It provides habitat for several significant
species, including at-risk turtles and eastern prairie white-fringed orchid. The
Minesing Wetlands has long been known to contain one of the oldest and largest
heronry areas in southern Ontario and provides expansive breeding opportunities
for marsh birds. Its extensive marshes provide significant stopover habitat for
migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. The Minesing Wetlands also supports one of
the largest deeryards within the Nottawasaga River watershed.
Located in the heart of the
Nottawasaga River watershed in Simcoe County, the wetlands include swamp marsh
and fen communities. The Nottawasaga River is part of the Great Lakes Basin,
and is a tributary of Lake Huron. Its main branch is 120 kilometers long and
empties in to Georgian Bay at Wasaga Beach. The Nottawasaga River system is one
of the largest producers of Rainbow Trout and Chinook Salmon in the Georgian
Bay/Lake Huron basin. The river also supports critical spawning and nursery
habitat for Lake Sturgeon.
Paving Paradise
and Putting up a Parking Lot
Since 1833
European settlers began settling, farming and logging the Minesing Wetlands. We
have been treating our natural heritage as if it was a business in need of
liquidation. Currently there is a Midhurst secondary plan in the Township of
Springwater in play that has earmarked a development expansion that will
potentially accommodate 30,000 residents on the edge of the Nottawasaga River
watershed. This development will result in storm drains and sewer treatment
effluent that will make their way to the wetlands and challenge the carrying
capacity of this eco-system.
This is a
perfect example of traditional economic drivers at play. Without awareness,
education and citizen engagement we will never succeed in creating a
sustainable future for our grandchildren and generations to come.
Let`s
Change the Channel
We have an
opportunity to develop new business models to create a sustainable portion of
our economy through ecotourism. If we can spawn ecotourism economic drivers in
Ontario we have a chance to diminish traditional incentives to build developments
on sensitive lands.
Given the rich
natural capital bounded by the Minesing Wetlands we will be able to harness the
bounties of ecotourism and motivate efforts to preserve it, while sharing these
resources with visitors around the world. This new industry would create an
emphasis on enriching personal experiences and environmental awareness through
interpretation while creating a greater understanding and appreciation for
nature, local society, and culture.
The benefits
of ecotourism will drive the desire to manage the ecological resilience of the
Minesing Wetlands in terms of protecting what we have with better monitoring,
stewardship and management practices and restoring conditions such that we will
maintain these natural treasures for future generations.
Ontario's
young workers have largely been affected by a national economic shift away from
the manufacturing sector towards resource extraction and Ontario government
austerity measures over the last few years. With Ontario youth unemployment
rates trending higher than the national average would it not make sense to
create employment incentives associated with ecotourism to develop a burgeoning
ecotourism industry dealing with employment and conservation issues in a
combined strategic effort? Ontario’s younger working cohort segment have the
right value set and the energy and enthusiasm to make the most impact in terms
of creating a best-in-class ecotourism business model for Ontario.
Aligning
the Forces in Our Society to Preserve Our Heritage
We can align
drivers to consider both private and social benefits and manage our natural
heritage. As a society we are finally recognizing that, the challenge of
sustainability rests almost entirely in getting the economy right. We
acknowledge that climate change and ecological degradation threaten our future
prosperity. Ecotourism as part of the green economy can be driven equally by
opportunity and conservation, as green economy options open up new
possibilities for jobs and growth. As a recent report from the U.N. put it,
“the greening of economies is not generally a drag on growth but rather a new
engine of growth…a net generator of decent jobs…”
So the next time you recognize a part of our beautiful world
undergoing change that has the potential to short change our future
generations, be a good ancestor and voice your concerns. Chances are an
ecotourism opportunity can be explored that will solve this problem and
simultaneously grow green jobs in Ontario and create a positive impact on our
economy.
Pictures courtesy of Jim Samis, Free Spirit
Tours, http://www.freespirit-tours.com/
Gary Cerantola, Hon BSc.
Chemistry, P.Eng., MBA is a resident of Wasaga Beach and currently a candidate
in the Wasaga Beach Municipal 2014 election for Deputy Mayor. www.garycerantola.com
