“We may have crossed an invisible threshold into a new climate regime.” – Bob Sandford, EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health
Note to Reader:
On September 26, 2018 Bob Sandford delivered the keynote presentation at the Asset Management BC Annual Conference at the Radisson Hotel in the City of Richmond (in the Metro Vancouver region). On behalf of the United Nations, he spoke to the gravity and global implications of what has happened in the Northern Hemisphere this past summer; and to the new science that is pouring in.
“British Columbia is one of the last places on the planet where it is still possible to transcend the climate debate and create a better world,” stated Bob Sandford
Bob Sandford made several never-before-made, nationally and internationally important pronouncements at the Asset Management BC conference. The urgency of new developments is such that these pronouncements will be framed as a call to action.
Bob Sandford had spent the last two months in research and in collaboration with climate scientists around the world to characterize what we saw and are learning from this horrific summer in the Northern Hemisphere. After examination of the evidence he is of the view that that if it hasn’t already, the heightened anxiety that he and many others are already experiencing personally with respect to the rapid acceleration of climate disruption we are witnessing is about to become a permanent part of the human condition.
On September 26th, Bob Sandford made presentations on two continents. The other was in China where he informed an international audience about the nature of the current climate instability in the Northern Hemisphere. In order to be in two places at the same time, Bob’s presentation to the BC audience was via video.
Both the China and Asset Management BC presentations will be followed by presentations elsewhere in Canada and abroad.
What Do You Wonder About Bob Sandford?
Bob Sandford holds the EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health. In this capacity Bob was the co-author of the UN Water in the World We Wantreport on post-2015 global sustainable development goals relating to water.
In his work Bob is committed to translating scientific research outcomes into language decision-makers can use to craft timely and meaningful public policy and to bringing international example to bear on local water issues. To this end, Bob is also senior advisor on water issues for the Interaction Council, a global public policy forum composed of more than thirty former Heads of State including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, U.S. President Bill Clinton and the former Prime Minister of Norway, Gro Brundtland.
Bob is also a Fellow of the Centre for Hydrology at the University of Saskatchewan and a Fellow of the Biogeoscience Institute at the University of Calgary. As well, he is a member of Canada’s Forum for Leadership on Water (FLOW), a national water policy research group centred in Toronto. In addition to other honours, Bob was co-recipient of the Premier’s award for his collaboration on the Northwest Territories water stewardship strategy.
Restorative Development: Hydrology is the Engine that Powers Ecological Services
Local governments are implementers. This means they can be change leaders. They can integrate climate adaptation into the activities and actions of engineered and natural asset management – or flipping it around, integrate asset management into the activities and actions of climate adaptation. ‘Getting it right’ starts with recognition that hydrology is the engine that powers ecological services.
To Learn More:
Read the Op-Ed published in the Vancouver Sun newspaper the day before Bob Sandford’s speech:
Kim Stephens, Bob Sandford and Tim Pringle: B.C. has a great opportunity to restore its lands