Leading in tough times—How can science help keep Salish Sea protection and recovery a priority during challenging economic times?
Note to Reader:
The Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference is the largest, most comprehensive scientific research and policy conference in the Georgia Basin – Puget Sound bio-region. Co-hosted by Environment Canada and the Puget Sound Partnership, the 2011 conference presents the latest scientific information on the state of the ecosystem.
The opening plenary includes a Local Government Panel that will speak to this topic: Leading in tough times—How can science help keep Salish Sea protection and recovery a priority during challenging economic times?
Settlement, Ecology and Economy in Balance
The panel of local officials from Canada and the United States will discuss perspectives on the role of local governments in protecting and restoring the Salish Sea ecosystem, including the relationship between economic development, growth and ecosystem recovery, and the role of science and data in the decision-making process.
Plenary Panel Participants:
- Jay Manning, former Chief of Staff for Governor Gregoire and former Director of the Department of Ecology, Panel Facilitator
- Kitsap County Commissioner Josh W. Brown
- Dow Constantine, King County Executive
- Mayor Lois E. Jackson, The Corporation of Delta
- Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, District of West Vancouver
“In West Vancouver our citizens, particularly through the Shoreline Preservation Society and West Van Streamkeepers, have been the critical link between science and local government action, in the protection of our creeks, intertidal zone and coastal waters,” sttates Mayor Pamela Goldsmith-Jones in providing a perspective on her participation in the panel session.
Convening for Action in British Columbia
The Plenary will be followed by four parallel sessions on specific topics. The one of particular relevance to local government is Mission Possible: Implementing a New Culture for Urban Watershed Protection and Restoration in the Salish Sea Bio-Region. Organized by the Partnership for Water Sustainability, the Mission Possible session is about a new form of governance that is taking root in British Columbia.
Top-Down and Bottom-Up
“From our perspective, it is perfect that the Mission Possible session follows the Plenary,” states Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director. Because Mayors Jackson and Goldsmith-Jones have both contributed to the success of the Convening for Action in British Columbia initiative since its launch in 2005, they are informed in terms of being able to foreshadow and connect the dots to our key messages.”
“In building on what we anticipate the two mayors will say in the Plenary, the Mission Possible panel will be providing specifics vis-à-vis HOW we are making things happen in BC through our science-based foundation combined with educational approach to influencing the ‘land ethic’. We describe the approach as ‘top-down and bottom-up’ because success follows when community visionaries collaborate with decision makers in govenment.”
“Eric Bonham will set the scene for the Mission Possible panel. His opening presentation will be cascading: Georgia Basin is the context; the east coast of Vancouver Island is the case study initiative; and the Bowker Creek Blueprint in the Capital Region is the example of on-the-ground action to implement a 100-year plan to restore watershed function. His unifiying theme is that good things happen when there is collaboration and alignment of efforts.”
“In the town-hall sharing session that will follow the Panel Conversation, our objective is to draw out other stories of collaboration from those in the audience,” concludes Kim Stephens.
To learn more about the session design, click on Mission Possible: Implementing a New Culture for Urban Watershed Protection and Restoration in the Salish Sea Bio-Region
Mission Possible Panel:
- Glen Brown, Executive Director, Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development
- Lynn Kriwoken, Director, Ministry of Environment
- Ted van der Gulik, Senior Engineer (and Chair, Water Balance Model Partnership)
- Richard Boase, Environmental Protection Officer, District of North Vancouver (and Vice-President, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC)
- Eric Bonham, Leadership Team, CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island
- Alan Lill, Program Manager, Living Rivers – Georgia Basin / Vancouver Island
- Kim Stephens, session facilitator
