DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Watershed Security Strategy is a Building Block” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in March 2022
Note to Reader:
Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the vision for Living Water Smart in British Columbia to build greener communities and adapt to a changing climate; and embrace “design with nature” approaches to reconnect people, land, fish, and water in altered landscapes. The edition published on March 15, 2022 featured the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s response to the Discussion Paper on Watershed Security Strategy and Fund, released by the Province of British Columbia in January 2022.
Province of British Columbia is poised to play a leadership role?
“As British Columbians, we have arrived at an ‘inter-generational moment’ in history. The climate is changing at an accelerating rate, and we are experiencing that in real time, with increased frequency of extreme weather events, including droughts, fires and floods that have already caused tremendous damage and destruction throughout the Province,” stated Ted van der Gulik, Partnership for Water Sustainability
“Government has identified fighting climate change as one of its top priorities. However, while climate mitigation is about carbon, climate adaptation is all about water.”
“As the Partnership for Water Sustainability, we have long advocated for and worked towards a guiding philosophy of ‘One Water’ as the only way to equip BC communities to deal with present and future climate uncertainties, to manage risk, and to adapt.”
What the new Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship needs to know
“The Province has been absent from local government processes for the past decade, resulting in a leadership vacuum. With creation of the new Ministry of Land, Water and Resource Stewardship, the Province has a golden opportunity to get back in the game and build on decades of collaboration to accelerate progress towards Watershed Security Strategy outcomes,” continued Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director.
“The Discussion Paper on a Watershed Security Strategy and Fund is a welcome first step. It opens the door for the new Ministry to take stock of what has been accomplished through implementation of Living Water Smart Actions and ask, what have we collectively learned in recent years and decades, and what comes next?”
“Responding to an invitation from the Living Water Smart team to engage in a process and submit ideas, the submission by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia focuses on five of the ten desired outcomes identified in the Discussion Paper,” explained Ted van der Gulik.
“Within each section, there are two parts: What the new Ministry needs to know, and How the new Ministry can help the Partnership help the Ministry carry out the Ministry’s ‘Resource Stewardship’ mandate related to land and water, and interweaving Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science to build a bridge between two worlds.”
Click on the cover image below to download a copy of the Partnership’s submission and learn much, much more:
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Watershed-Security-Strategy_2022_FINAL.pdf