Governance and management of rouge park: understanding the history of stakeholder involvement in the rouge park study area, and the role of public stewardship in its history and future
Student name: Ms Shruti Syal
Guide: Dr Joachim Michael Schmerbeck
Year of completion: 2013
Host Organisation: Daniels Faculty of Architecture, Landscape, and Design, University of Toronto
Supervisor (Host Organisation): Prof Aziza Chaouni
Abstract: Rouge Park is to become Canada‟s first urban national park, making it necessary to
comprehensively understand the administrative transition from provincial to federal authorities.
To achieve that, this thesis provides a compilation of the governance and management changes
and stakeholder involvement in the area since the 1600s, opinions of some of the current
stakeholders, and an analysis of the role of public stewardship in the region‟s history and future
in light of this information. There is evidence that Rouge Park came into existence following
strong civic propaganda and has continued to function in close association with NGOs involved
in stewardship activities in ecological restoration, recreation, education, and fundraising for
Rouge Park. It was corroborated that there was a need for streamlining operations, funding, and
accountability that justified bringing Rouge Park under full federal jurisdiction by making it a
national park. Since Rouge National Park is inherently urban in location, it provides a unique
opportunity to continue having public involvement in environmental and educational activities.
This is first supported using literature on the case study of Stockholm National Urban Park, the
Rouge watershed, and public stewardship in protected areas in Canada. There are other
arguments for the continuation of public stewardship. One, the continuation of agricultural
activities necessitates the need for a more nested functional arrangement for land management.
Second, there is a possibility of reducing operational costs by employing this wide base of NGOs
consistently working in the area. And lastly, the opinions of some of the currently active
stakeholders who were interviewed on the issues of visitation, public access, and stewardship
also support this involvement. The thesis thus builds a case for the continued involvement of
public stewardship organizations in Rouge National Park.
Keywords. protected area management, peri-urban, national park, public stewardship, Rouge
Park
