Nova Scotia Backgrounder

Environment--
keeping Nova Scotia green

One of the first things most visitors notice about Nova Scotia is the colour. Green predominates most of the year. In the deep forests and tidy farms. Reflected in hundreds of lakes. Ever-present in the sea s many moods. Trees and parks abound in cities and villages. Green is also a state of mind in Nova Scotia. In a world increasingly under the stress of too much humanity, this province is often viewed as a place where it is possible to live and work in surroundings that are still clean and uncrowded and, at the same time, very much attuned to the 21st century.

Nova Scotians are well aware of the economic and aesthetic value of their province s natural assets, and of the need to safeguard them for the future. Federal and provincial agencies devote considerable time and resources to that end. Progressive legislation and agreements protect vulnerable sectors such as fish stocks, forestry resources, beach areas and wetlands. New environmental regulations are helping keep the land and waters beautiful. Where problems exist, answers are being sought. Where Nova Scotians use resources for human good, they are increasingly working hard to ensure that this use is not at the expense of wildlife habitat, long-term sustainability or aesthetic concerns.

Not surprisingly, an entire industry has grown up to sustain and protect vital resources. It is expected to be one of the province s fastest growing sectors. The reputation of the local universities and research facilities, together with the quality of life, has attracted some of the best scientific minds in the world. Expertise combined with modern research facilities has launched stimulating and profitable partnerships among business, government and industry.

Throughout the world demand grows for higher environmental standards and environmental clean-ups. The provincial government has recently established an Environmental Industries and Technology Program to assist the private sector in promoting its environmental technologies, products and services. Some entrepreneurs are transforming natural and recyclable materials into the basis of a thriving business. Others have developed innovative technologies as diverse as remote sensing and digital mapping, emission controls, organic landscape management and wastewater handling systems.

Nova Scotia is committed to becoming a world leader in the development of environmental technologies and services.

Statistics

Government institutions involved in environmental research:
Atlantic Centre for Remote Sensing of the Oceans
Bedford Institute of Oceanography
Nova Scotia CAD/CAM Centre
Atlantic Geoscience Centre
Atlantic Research Laboratory
inNovacorp
Technical University of Nova Scotia
University research programs in all fields including agriculture

Local environmental management expertise includes:
environmental impact assessments
facilities design and operation
hydrogeology
soils engineering
marine and land-based geotechnical engineering
site remediation
water and wastewater management
solid waste management

The following are several Nova Scotian environmental technology companies which work internationally with clients and partners in other G7 countries:
Aquatex Corp., water treatment systems (USA)
Castle Capital Inc., waste to energy technology (Governments and power generation companies around the world)
Devtek Applied Electronics Inc., acoustics and sampling (UK, USA, France, Italy, Germany)
Jacques Whitford, environmental impact assessment (oil and gas companies on all continents)
Maritime Scientific Services Ltd., laser sampling and fluid analysis (USA, France)
Seimac Inc., marine and military data acquisition systems and software (USA, UK, Germany)
Synmap Information Technologies Ltd., applied information technologies (USA)
Trihedral Engineering Ltd., software for industrial control (UK)
Environmental Design Management, interdisciplinary environmental solutions (USA)
B.G. Roberts Chemicals Inc., waste water treatment (USA, France)
Canadian Seabed Research, marine and ground geophysics and geology (USA)
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