Created by legislation passed by the Government of Ontario in 2005, the Greenbelt is considered a major step in the prevention of urban development and sprawl on environmentally sensitive land in the province. The Government of Ontario states that the Greenbelt includes 800,000 hectares (1976843.05 acres) of land protected by the Niagara Escarpment Plan and the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan plus 1 million acres (404,685.6 hectares) of land in the Protected Countryside overarching Greenbelt Plan. That total (7,284 km² or 2,812 mi²) makes it one of the largest and most successful greenbelts in the world. The previous Government of Ontario had committed to increasing its size in the future.