Evaluating the Performance of Environmental Co-Management Agencies

Our team evaluated the performance of environmental agencies in the Athabasca oil sands region, the diamond mine area of Canada’s north and other areas.

Alberta Environment and the Athabasca Tribal Council (ATC) jointly supported a review of the Cumulative Environmental Management Association (CEMA) which operates in Canada’s oil sands region. The purpose of the evaluation was to undertake an independent assessment of the operations and structure of CEMA. The evaluation reviewed governance, partnership roles and their value to the organization, funding issues and mandate. The evaluation consisted of direct consultation with CEMA, government and First Nations representatives. The evaluation consisted of the following components:

• The development of a baseline profile of CEMA;
• A review of background documents and reports to supplement the baseline information;
• A survey and interview of a number stakeholders who are knowledgeable about the workings and performance of CEMA; and
• A review of other examples of multi-party environmental associations within Canada to find out how the agencies are organized and work together successfully.