Preamble

This report is submitted to the Resources Inventory Committee (RIC) by the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Task Force.

The Resources Inventory Committee consists of representatives from various ministries and agencies of the Canadian and the British Columbia governments. First Nations peoples are represented in the Committee. RIC objectives are to develop a common set of standards and procedures for the provincial resources inventories, as recommended by the Forest Resources Commission in its report The Future of Our Forests.

To achieve its objectives, the Resources Inventory Committee has set up several task forces, including the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Task Force. The terms of reference for the Task Force are to review the current status of resource inventories and make recommendations for the future. This is the full report of that work.

Funding of the Resources Inventory Committee work, including the preparation of this report, is provided by the Canada-British Columbia Partnership Agreement on Forest Resources Development: FRDA II - a four year (1991-1995) $200 million program cost-shared equally by the federal and provincial governments.

Contents of this report are presented for discussion purposes only. A formal technical review of this document has not yet been undertaken. Funding from the partnership agreement does not imply acceptance or approval of any statements or information contained herein by either government. This document is not official policy of Forestry Canada nor of any British Columbia Government Ministry or Agency.

For additional copies and/or further information about the Resources Inventory Committee and its various Task Forces, please contact:

The Executive Secretariat
Resources Inventory Committee
840 Cormorant Street
Victoria, BC V8W 1R1

Phone: (604) 381-5661
FAX: (604) 384-1841

Summary of Findings and Recommendations

What Inventories Exist?

• The review of "what exists" in the way of culture, recreation and tourism inventories identified 38 separate inventories dealing with one or more of these topics. There is no single, comprehensive inventory that records culture, recreation and tourism information for the province.
• These inventories vary significantly in terms of geographic coverage, resource focus, level of detail, format, and output. They have been compiled by a range of agencies including all levels of government, consultants, associations, clubs, crown corporations, universities, and museums.
• These inventories tend to reflect the mandate of the owner agency and include information which relates directly to agency objectives. This has resulted in overlaps and gaps in data collection.
• There is a general lack of awareness within the culture, recreation and tourism communities regarding what inventory information exists.
• There is little consistency in the way information is collected and standardized. Although this has not hampered their original purpose, it has resulted in a lack of comparability among inventories.

What is Needed?

What is needed is a comprehensive approach to inventorying culture, recreation and tourism resources which reduces overlaps and maximizes the sharing of common information. Specific features or considerations to be addressed by the inventories are as follows:

1. Basic common characteristics of culture, recreation and tourism inventories are that they must answer the questions:

a) what is the resource?
b) where is it located?

2. Culture, recreation and tourism inventories must address key resource descriptors including:

a) resource size
b) resource age
c) resource ownership
d) resource use
e) resource users/stewards
f) state of development
g) access.

3. The inventories should support assessment of resource:

a) significance
b) capability
c) suitability
d) sensitivity
e) vulnerability.

4. Culture, recreation and tourism inventories must present features data which are free of interpretation and judgement to the greatest extent possible.
5. The inventories must have high integrity and include information on:

a) quality of attribute data
b) quality of locational data
c) sources of information
d) ownership of information
e) status of information
f) cartographic standards.

6. Culture, recreation and tourism have a diverse range of users who require information for a variety of purposes. The inventory system should be capable of linking to:

a) market information
b) financial information
c) economic information
d) community information
e) other non-economic factors.

How Do We Get There?

The design of practical and effective culture, recreation and tourism inventories requires a number of considerations. The key issues are described below.

7. Separate but coordinated inventories should be established to serve the unique purposes of culture, recreation and tourism.
8. Common data requirements must be identified and inventoried in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
9. A Geographic Information System (GIS) with data base and analytical reporting capabilities is the preferred tool to store, analyze and display inventory data. It should address the following:

a) identification of attributes and the definition for attribute data
b) compatibility with the other RIC inventories.

10. The development of standards is a crucial component of inventory design. The following must be addressed:

a) a common map base to facilitate the exchange of information among inventories
b) comparable map scales for data collection, i.e. suitable for culture, recreation and tourism are:

- 1:20,000 (local)
- 1:250,000 (regional)

c) standard terminology along with a common resource classification system.

11. It is essential that local, regional and provincial concerns be addressed in the inventory design, data collection, and use.
12. Consideration should be given to the creation of a neutral agency to coordinate all RIC inventory programs.
13. Culture, recreation and tourism inventories should be undertaken in a manner consistent with other inventories supported by RIC in terms of reliability, geographic coverage, and funding.
14. Culture, recreation and tourism inventories should make use of the two existing major GIS-based inventory systems - namely the Forest Recreation Inventory and the Coastal Tourism Resource Inventory.
15. Inventory systems should be designed to meet existing requirements, but be flexible to allow for future needs and modifications.
16. Access to information is a crucial issue for land-use planning.

a) Culture, recreation and tourism inventory information should be "user friendly" and readily available to the public.
b) Information should be available to the full range of users in a variety of formats, including paper copies and user access terminals.
c) Users should be denied access to sensitive or confidential information.

17. A pilot program should be developed to test implementation of inventories which would specifically address the recommendations addressed above.