Green Infrastructure Partnership co-sponsors 2009 Water Balance Model Forum
Convening for Action in
Metro Vancouver
In March 2009, the CIty of Surrey hosted the Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Partnership, the Inter-Governmental Partnership and three provincial Ministries, namey: Community Development, Agriculture & Lands, and Environment.
The Surrey Forum was undertaken as part of the implementation program for Convening for Action in British Columbia in order to promote alignment of local actions in Metro Vancouver with provincial goals.
“The Forum was designed to start a dialogue between policy-makers and project implementers,” states Vincent Lalonde, the City’s General Manager, Engineering, and a
member of the Green Infrastructure Partnership steering committee.
“We approached the program design from a shared responsibility perspective; we explored how policy and legal tools can help developers, regulators and designers collaborate to ensure responsible outcomes.”
About the 2009 Surrey Forum
The Forum program was built around the HOW question as it pertains to green infrastructure:
- HOW will the City of Surrey get it built right;
- HOW will a consistent regional approach be achieved in Metro Vancouver?
The Province’s Green Communities Initiative and Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan provided the backdrop for the Surrey Forum.
To Learn More:
Click on Living Water Smart and Making Green Choices in the Metro Vancouver Region to access links to a set of stories posted on waterbucket.ca and leading up to the Forum.
Moving Beyond Pilot Projects
The following challenge statement provided context for advancing a ‘regional team approach’ in Metro Vancouver:
How do we simultaneously work together as staff within a municipality and as a region AND externally with developers and other private sector players, to ensure we implement sustainable approaches to development?
The goal is to move beyond pilot projects to a watershed-based approach to achieving performance targets for rainwater management and green infrastructure.
To Learn More:
Click on The Story of the 2009 Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum to download a PDF copy of six stories that are consolidated in a single stand-alone document.
