Twitter and Facebook suggested as successful tools for environmental management

A leaked government e-mail shows the British Columbia Ministry of Environment (MOE) is currently undergoing a significant reorganization that will lessen government oversight, promote social media tools, and emphasize a "market-based" approach to protect the environment in BC.
"This is another sad day for the Ministry of Environment. The Ministry has already had its staffing levels and budget reduced by over 50 per cent since 2001, and now we are seeing the government advocate the use of twitter and market-based approaches to manage the environment instead of government oversight," said Gwen Barlee, policy director with the Wilderness Committee.

The e-mail, authored by Deputy Minister of MOE Doug Konkin, was sent out to Ministry staff on the morning of September 13, 2010. The memo announced an organizational restructuring, "effective immediately," with an emphasis on streamlining tasks in a manner that "incorporates thinking on the province's social and economic goals." The document also identified further budget cuts to MOE in 2011.

The leaked government email outlined that ministry staff "do not feel connected with or able to deliver on our 'lofty' goals," and that staff are "sometimes overwhelmed with workloads and cannot react fast enough to demands placed on them." The missive was also notable for the fact that it said MOE could no longer spend so much of its time responding to specific projects "and trying to mitigate negative impacts."

Most surprisingly, the memo advocated the use of social media as a tool to protect the environment: "Future success depends on accelerating the shift to proactive environmental management; on using social media and finding more ways to get manufacturers, proponents and society to protect the environment."

"This memo is a swan song for the BC Ministry of Environment. The provincial government is rearranging deck chairs instead of taking action to protect BC's environment," said Barlee. "If we want clean air and fresh water, protection for species at risk and a healthy environment for our children, we need proper government management - not turning over environmental protection to logging and mining companies and expecting Twitter and Facebook to fill the void."

For more information please contact:

Gwen Barlee, Policy Director, Wilderness Committee, 604-202-0322 (c) or 604-683-8220 (w)

To read the leaked email from  Deputy Minister Doug Konkin click here.