ARTICLE: Blue Ecology – for humans to adapt to a changing climate, a new culture of water is necessary! (announcement in Asset Management BC Newsletter, September 2017)
Note to Reader:
Released at the 2017 Annual Convention of the Union of British Columbia Municipalities, the September 2017 edition of the Asset Management BC Newsletter included an article by Kim Stephens (Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia) announcing the Blue Ecology Workshop.
Blue Ecology: A Bridging Philosophy
Blue Ecology is an ecological philosophy developed by Michael Blackstock, professional forester and scholar. Blue Ecology looks at the water cycle differently to interweave First Nations and Western thought.
“Hydrologists and water managers can help build a brighter future by rediscovering the meaning of water, and interweaving the predominant Western analytical models with the more intuitive indigenous models. Blue Ecology’s philosophy is meant to be the bridge between these two cultural ways of knowing,” explains Michael Blackstock.
A Call to Action
“The gravity of the situation calls for application of Sustainable Service Delivery principles to watershed restoration in the built environment. Successful implementation depends on all the players – in particular politicians, planners, landowners, designers, implementers and asset managers – collectively choosing to embrace a ‘design with nature’ philosophical foundation,” wrote Kim Stephens.
“We must collaborate to then adapt our land use, infrastructure servicing and asset management practices appropriately!”
To Learn More:
Download Blue Ecology – for humans to adapt to a changing climate, a new culture of water is necessary! to read the complete article as published in the September 2017 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter.