DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: How Much Should Communities Invest in Protection of Stream Systems?” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in June 2022
Note to Reader:
In 2016, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia embarked upon a 6-year program of applied research to evolve EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, through a 3-stage building blocks process of testing, refining, and mainstreaming the methodology and metrics for financial valuation of stream systems. The program involved 9 case studies and 13 local governments and yielded 19 “big ideas” or foundational concepts. In the edition of Waterbucket eNews published on June 14, 2022, the Partnership announced release of its Synthesis Report on the Ecological Accounting Process, a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems.
Story behind the story of the Ecological Accounting Process
Know your history. Understand the context. These are key thoughts, and they provide perspective for the story of EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, as told in Beyond the Guidebook 2022: EAP, a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems, released in June 2022 by the Partnership.
EAP uses real numbers. The methodology and metrics allow local governments to make a convincing financial case for annual investment in stream systems. The next step for them is to integrate budget line items for stream maintenance and management (M&M) into their Asset Management Strategies.
The “EAP story” is about a journey, one that began circa 1990 for pioneers working on parallel stream protection and restoration initiatives in British Columbia and Washington State. Three decades later, these parallel tracks have converged in the form of EAP. It has been a building blocks process requiring commitment, patience, and perseverance by many.
Local governments now have a path forward to address the Riparian Deficit. This is the environmental equivalent of the Infrastructure Funding Gap. It puts the environmental perspective on an equal footing with the engineering and accounting perspectives. This alone is game-changing.
The growing cost due to neglect of the Drainage Service, combined with the urgency of the drainage liability issue, is the driver for linking municipal infrastructure asset management and stream health as “cause-and-effect”.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story posted on June 14th 2022, download a PDF copy of “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: How Much Should Communities Invest in Protection of Stream Systems?“
DOWNLOAD A COPY OF https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/06/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_EAP-Synthesis_2022.pdf