The West Coast Environmental Law Research Foundation (WCELRF) is a non-profit, charitable society devoted to legal research and education aimed at protection of the environment and promotion of public participation in environmental decision making. It operates in conjunction with the West Coast Environmental Law Association (WCELA), which provides legal services to concerned members of the public for the same two purposes.
This guide is about conservation covenants, a new legal tool that allows the voluntary preservation of privately owned land in British Columbia. A conservation covenant may be granted by a landowner to a non-governmental conservation organization. The guide provides information and encouragement to landowners and conservation organizations that may be interested in placing conservation covenants on privately owned land to protect ecological and other important values of that land. It also provides information to other parties who may be interested in the voluntary protection of private land — local government, lawyers and real estate professionals.
This guide is educational and does not constitute legal advice. Readers concerned about specific land preservation issues in a particular situation, or readers wishing to place a conservation covenant on a specific parcel of land, are strongly urged to seek legal advice from a lawyer.
WJA
Vancouver, December 1995