Gwa’ni Land Use Planning Project

In January 2021, the B.C. government and ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation began working together on the Gwa’ni Project: a collaborative planning process to update land use direction in the Nimpkish Valley on Vancouver Island. The project area encompasses over 166,000 hectares and includes most of the Upper and Lower Nimpkish Landscape Units.

The Gwa’ni land use planning process evaluated the existing land use planning framework — the Vancouver Island Land Use Plan — to provide more effective management direction for resource, cultural, wildlife and recreational values found within the project area.

The planning process included engagement with stakeholders, industry, local governments and members of the public in the region. This work resulted in consensus recommendations that reflect current cultural, social, environmental and economic values. These recommendations will be implemented in phases, starting with new land use objectives for the project area. The Gwa’ni Project Plan Summary provides the context, intentions and consensus recommendations for these new land use objectives.

Implementation of priority consensus recommendations will continue to move forward in phases, with additional public engagement in the coming years.

• Gwa’ni Project Plan Summary – 2025 (PDF, 300KB)
• Order establishing land use objectives for the Gwa’ni Project Area, effective January 15, 2026 (PDF, 2.2MB)