BLUE ECOLOGY WORKSHOP: Module 2 – Ted van der Gulik has a compelling story about “The Fraser River, Agriculture and Food Security” (November 28, 2017 in Richmond)
Connect the Dots
The mighty Fraser River drains more than one-quarter of the land area of British Columbia. What happens in the Interior has implications and/or consequences for the Lower Mainland region at the mouth of the Fraser.
Formerly the Senior Engineer in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ted van der Gulik has a compelling story about the inter-connection of climate change, drought, rising sea levels, Fraser River salinity, agricultural water supply and food security.
How Many Hours Per Year?
The farming community needs a secure supply of water at a sustainable level of cost, quality and quantity to maintain the viability of actively farmed agriculture land in the Metro Vancouver region
“Agriculture is a large fresh water user and the demand for water will only increase as summers get longer, hotter and drier. The Ministry of Agriculture has developed a Water Demand Model that can determine agriculture’s water requirements today and in the future using global climate models stretching to the year 2100,” states Ted van der Gulik, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
“Climate change will raise sea levels and bring sea water farther up the Fraser River. This will limit the number of hours per year that fresh water is accessible for irrigation water supply in the Delta.”
To Learn More:
Fraser River Basin