Nature's Keepers: civil society actors and the neoliberalisation of conservation in the Rouge Park

Abstract

This paper examines the roles and actions of civil society actors and state agencies in the establishment and management of the Rouge Park (Ontario, Canada), a large greenspace approximately 46 km2. This paper takes the stance that neoliberalism is more than just a simple derivative of capitalism, but also a continually evolving process that has explicit links to nature and its management. I use qualitative data to investigate how the governance framework put in place by the province of Ontario amounts to the neoliberalisation of conservation, where a disproportionate amount of the day-to-day management and operation of the park is completed by civil society actors and their respective volunteers. I examine how the management structure of the Rouge Park has resulted in what amounts to neoliberal conservation policy yet, despite its apparent and upfront shortcomings, this governance scheme has also resulted in some notable developments. In particular, it has provided an increase in opportunities for civil society actors to become key agents in both park planning and conservation.

Keywords:

• civil society
• conservation
• neoliberalisation
• urban greenspaces
• political ecology
• Rouge Park
• Ontario

Acknowledgements

I wish to thank my interviewees for sharing their intimate perspectives on the Rouge Park. I also must thank two anonymous reviewers for their very constructive suggestions. Finally, I acknowledge André Sorensen for comments on an early draft of this paper and Jen Forkes for her GIS help.

Notes

For a discussion into why neoliberalism is inherently an environmental project see Bakker (2005), Castree (2008a), Heynen and Robbins (2005), and a Geoforum 35 (3) special issue dedicated to the nature of neoliberalisation.

The Oak Ridges Moraine is hilly geological formation consisting of mostly sand and gravel deposited during the last Ice Age. It extends from Rice Lake in the east, to the Niagara Escarpment in the west, and a length of over 160 km (Paterson and Cheel 1997).

The other watershed includes Etobicoke Creek, Mimico Creek, the Humber River, Highland Creek, and the Don River.

After amalgamation of the City of Toronto in 1998, the former Metropolitan Toronto and Region Conservation Authority was renamed the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA). The TRCA is the lead agency in coordinating watershed management in the GTA.

The eastern border of the City of Toronto consisted of the former City of Scarborough. The City of Toronto was amalgamated on 1 January 1998. The six municipalities of the former Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto included Toronto, York, East York, North York, Etobicoke, and Scarborough. For an explanation of Toronto's amalgamation history and its past two-tier model of municipal governance see Keil (2000) and Sancton (2005).

The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act was passed in 2001, and its main purpose was to protect both the ecological and hydrological integrity of the moraine. The Greenbelt Act was passed in 2005, and protects a much larger area (approximately 700,000 ha) from further development, and sprawl (Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing 2011).

The NDP were defeated in June 1995, and replaced by the Conservative's who ran on a platform called the “Common Sense Revolution” promising immediate deficit reduction in the form of lower taxes and cuts to social spending.

See Keil (2002) and Keil and Boudreau (2005) for a synopsis of the effects and outcomes of amalgamation in Toronto.

In the case of the Greenbelt and the Moraine, both acts and their related plans and policies are administered by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, which is the lead institution chiefly involved in land-use planning in the province of Ontario.

The RPA board unanimously carried a motion that the Organization and Finance Review Steering Committee examine possible governance and financing models for the creation of a National Park (RPA Minutes – Meeting #2/09 2009).