Why Be Pro-Active in Environmental Stewardship?

Alberta's agriculture production and processing industry have made important progress in environmental stewardship over the last decade. Processors, farmers and ranchers have initiated environmentally sustainable projects to improve water and soil quality through Previous Canada-Alberta Environmental Initiatives. Industry and environmental organization in Alberta agree there is a need to continue, improve and expand these efforts to protect Alberta's environment.

The AESA Program grew out of stakeholder consultations in the winter of 1995/96. Those consultations showed the need for targeted environmental programming in agricultural production and processing. The following priorities were identified:

Maintain and improve soil quality - Proper agricultural production and agroforestry practices can maintain and improve soil quality through: preventing wind and water erosion; decreasing salinization; increasing organic matter levels; improving soil structure and increasing soil fertility.
Maintain and improve water quality - Water quality deteriorates when pollutants are present in sufficient concentrations to impair the health of dependent plant and animal life. Adopting beneficial agricultural management practices have the potential to decrease contamination of surface and groundwater supplies through pesticides, nutrients, soil sediments, salinity, and wastes.
Maintain biodiversity - Diversity and health of ecosystems must be maintained for long-term mutual benefits. Opportunities for agriculture to contribute to enhanced biodiversity should be pursued. Biodiversity refers to species, ecosystems and the ecological process of which they are a part. Agriculture has impacted wildlife through the loss and degradation of habitat. There is growing negotiation that agriculture and wildlife can coexist. For example, retaining wetlands and planting shelterbelts provides valuable habitat and agricultural benefits.

Environmental stewardship is crucial to the success of Alberta farmers, ranchers and processors. They need good quality soil, water and air to produce the food we eat. And, to maintain the marketing advantage that comes from producing high quality agricultural products in a clean environment, the industry needs to make every effort to protect the environment.

The AESA Program

The AESA program has three components:

The AESA Program is a long-term, provincially funded program to facilitate the continued development and adoption of management practices and technologies that make agricultural production and processing more environmentally sustainable. The AESA Program supports:

the transfer of new technology and information for minimizing environmental impacts, to farmers, ranchers and processors.
monitoring of soil and water quality to track the industry’s effects on the resources

Alberta Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture (AESA) Program

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For more information about the content of this document, contact Laura Ung.
This document is maintained by Deb Sutton.
This information published to the web on April 2, 2003.
Last Reviewed/Revised on March 19, 2008.