Environmental Studies Research Fund Prescribed Regions

Canada's frontier lands are covered by 31 prescribed regions for the Environmental Studies Research Fund (ESRF), which sponsors environmental and social studies for oil and gas decision-making. The dataset includes geospatial boundaries, historical levy tables, and maps illustrating regions where levies no longer apply due to territorial devolution. Natural Resources Canada administers this data, which was last updated in April 2026.

Use Cases

• Mapping the legal boundaries of environmental research funding regions based on the described geospatial extents.
• Analyzing historical levy contributions for oil and gas companies based on the compiled levy table.
• Identifying areas exempt from ESRF levies due to devolution agreements with Yukon and Northwest Territories.
• Supporting regulatory compliance and planning for offshore petroleum boards based on the described legislative framework.

Strengths

• Includes 31 distinct prescribed regions with legally described boundaries.
• Contains a historical levy table for each region, providing financial context.
• Geospatial data reflects specific devolution agreements from 2003 and 2014.
• Managed by a federal government department (Natural Resources Canada) with a legislative mandate since 1987.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes the data is 'for illustrative purposes only', which may affect its authoritative use.

Provenance

Source

Natural Resources Canada

Collection Method

Legally described in the Environmental Studies Research Fund Regions Regulations under the Canada Petroleum Resources Act.

Time Range

Historical levy data likely spans from 1987 onward; specific range is not stated.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 20:06:49.252643; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Canada's frontier lands, including areas devolved to Yukon and Northwest Territories.