Managing the environment: A review of best practices

The purpose of this report is to provide the Government of Ontario with an independent review of best practices with respect to how environment departments in other jurisdictions meet current challenges and execute their various management responsibilities. The origin of this review was the Government’s stated commitment to establishing Ontario as a leading environmental jurisdiction and as a model in the future for other jurisdictions to emulate. In this context, our efforts were directed at an overall management effectiveness review of the Ministry of the Environment.

They established a central line of inquiry for the project as follows: What are the defining characteristics of and/or elements that are present in a model ministry or department of the environment?

The responses they received and the results of our research led them to focus on two different levels of further study:
• To identify and describe what we have referred to as broad strategic shifts in thinking that are taking place across leading jurisdictions with respect to the complex challenges presented in the environment arena.
• Within this set of strategic shifts, to identify best practices and make recommendations to Government with respect to a number of key
functional areas.

The Volume 1: Managing the Environment, presents the high-level and strategic management challenges facing virtually every environment department or ministry that we contacted or researched. These challenges are presented here as broad strategic shifts that are underway in how governments, regulated communities, NGOs, and the public are attempting to understand and deal with their environmental protection roles and responsibilities.