Risk Management Framework Overview

Fisheries and Oceans Canda’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) is pleased to release its Risk Management Framework Overview for informational purposes.

This Overview:

  • provides information about FFHPP’s risk management approach
  • serves as a foundation for future engagement on policies, guidance and tools related to DFO’s approach to managing risks to fish and fish habitat
  • communicates the status of the FFHPP’s Risk Management Framework in the context of the implementation of the Fisheries Act (2019), the Species at Risk Act, the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

Background

FFHPP started using a Risk Management Framework (RMF) in 2004. This RMF established a structured and systematic approach to assessing and communicating risk from projects in or near water. Since then, FFHPP has continued to refine its approach to risk management based on:

  • experience and lessons learned
  • engagement feedback from Indigenous Peoples, partners and other interested parties
  • internationally used best practices
  • changes made to the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act in 2012 and 2019

FFHPP achieves its vision to conserve, protect and restore fish and fish habitat for future generations in a way that respects Indigenous rights and supports sustainable development through multiple activities, including:

  • development of guidance, instruments and tools
  • spatial planning processes
  • partnerships
  • engagement with Indigenous Peoples and consideration of Indigenous Knowledge
  • regulatory review of development projects
  • compliance verification and monitoring
  • support for restoration of degraded habitats

A risk management approach that can inform all of these activities is critical to the successful conservation, protection and restoration of fish and fish habitat.

Aquatic ecosystems are complex, and multiple factors influence ecological processes. This makes it difficult to predict how fish and their habitats will respond to any given pressure. Threats such as the changing climate, pollution, aquatic invasive species, overexploitation of fish, and new and emerging technologies only add to the uncertainty.

FFHPP will continue to use a risk-based approach to decision making, that is informed by evidence including available science and Indigenous Knowledge, to assess the pressures on fish and fish habitat from projects in or near water to determine the likelihood and severity of harmful impacts, and determine the best course of action for addressing the risk.

Next steps

Ensuring a clear rule base and efficient processes are vital for managing risk. FFHPP has done much work in recent years to standardize guidance for routine projects that are unlikely to harm fish and fish habitat when specific conditions and measures are followed (for example, see the standards and codes of practice).

FFHPP is also developing mitigation standards to communicate expected outcomes and to help focus the request for project review and application for Fisheries Act authorization processes.

FFHPP continues to explore ways to enhance process clarity, predictability and efficiency, and plans to engage on these in the future.

Over the coming year, FFHPP intends to:

  • continue to engage, inform and consult with Indigenous Peoples on regulatory decision-making processes and approaches
  • work with Indigenous Peoples, partners and other interested parties to enhance proactive and integrated planning for Canada’s watersheds to help identify and manage risks to fish and fish habitat
  • develop, improve and implement more codes of practice and other tools to clarify conditions and measures for routine projects
  • develop and implement more standards to clarify what is expected when implementing key mitigation measures, ensuring maximum effectiveness
  • improve and standardize how project proponents submit proposals to meet DFO information requirements
  • clarify processes and tools for ensuring efficiency for project-specific reviews of major development projects

Fisheries and Oceans Canda’s (DFO) Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program (FFHPP) is pleased to release its Risk Management Framework Overview for informational purposes.

This Overview:

  • provides information about FFHPP’s risk management approach
  • serves as a foundation for future engagement on policies, guidance and tools related to DFO’s approach to managing risks to fish and fish habitat
  • communicates the status of the FFHPP’s Risk Management Framework in the context of the implementation of the Fisheries Act (2019), the Species at Risk Act, the Aquatic Invasive Species Regulations and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act

Background

FFHPP started using a Risk Management Framework (RMF) in 2004. This RMF established a structured and systematic approach to assessing and communicating risk from projects in or near water. Since then, FFHPP has continued to refine its approach to risk management based on:

  • experience and lessons learned
  • engagement feedback from Indigenous Peoples, partners and other interested parties
  • internationally used best practices
  • changes made to the fish and fish habitat protection provisions of the Fisheries Act in 2012 and 2019

FFHPP achieves its vision to conserve, protect and restore fish and fish habitat for future generations in a way that respects Indigenous rights and supports sustainable development through multiple activities, including:

  • development of guidance, instruments and tools
  • spatial planning processes
  • partnerships
  • engagement with Indigenous Peoples and consideration of Indigenous Knowledge
  • regulatory review of development projects
  • compliance verification and monitoring
  • support for restoration of degraded habitats

A risk management approach that can inform all of these activities is critical to the successful conservation, protection and restoration of fish and fish habitat.

Aquatic ecosystems are complex, and multiple factors influence ecological processes. This makes it difficult to predict how fish and their habitats will respond to any given pressure. Threats such as the changing climate, pollution, aquatic invasive species, overexploitation of fish, and new and emerging technologies only add to the uncertainty.

FFHPP will continue to use a risk-based approach to decision making, that is informed by evidence including available science and Indigenous Knowledge, to assess the pressures on fish and fish habitat from projects in or near water to determine the likelihood and severity of harmful impacts, and determine the best course of action for addressing the risk.

Next steps

Ensuring a clear rule base and efficient processes are vital for managing risk. FFHPP has done much work in recent years to standardize guidance for routine projects that are unlikely to harm fish and fish habitat when specific conditions and measures are followed (for example, see the standards and codes of practice).

FFHPP is also developing mitigation standards to communicate expected outcomes and to help focus the request for project review and application for Fisheries Act authorization processes.

FFHPP continues to explore ways to enhance process clarity, predictability and efficiency, and plans to engage on these in the future.

Over the coming year, FFHPP intends to:

  • continue to engage, inform and consult with Indigenous Peoples on regulatory decision-making processes and approaches
  • work with Indigenous Peoples, partners and other interested parties to enhance proactive and integrated planning for Canada’s watersheds to help identify and manage risks to fish and fish habitat
  • develop, improve and implement more codes of practice and other tools to clarify conditions and measures for routine projects
  • develop and implement more standards to clarify what is expected when implementing key mitigation measures, ensuring maximum effectiveness
  • improve and standardize how project proponents submit proposals to meet DFO information requirements
  • clarify processes and tools for ensuring efficiency for project-specific reviews of major development projects
Page published: 08 Jan 2025, 01:04 PM