DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Why aquatic scientists look at things in an integrative way” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in October 2023
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on October 10, 2023 featured extracts from a conversational interview with Dr. Dave Preikshot, Senior Environmental Specialist with the Municipality of North Cowichan on Vancouver Island. Dave Preikshot collaborated with the legendary Daniel Pauly on fisheries research projects at the University of BC from 1995 through 2007.
“The job of a scientist is to provide the best advice to help people make a good decision,” states Dr. Dave Preikshot
Every generation is handed a world that has been shaped by their predecessors – and then seemingly forgets that fact. In a short-but-influential paper published in 1995, legendary UBC fisheries scientist Dr. Daniel Pauly coined the term Shifting Baseline Syndrome to characterize environmental degradation.
Since 2014, the Partnership has been drawing attention to the Shifting Baseline Syndrome for two reasons. One, it helps explain why urban streams continue to degrade. And two, it helps underpin the financial case for tackling the Riparian Deficit.
A baseline creeps imperceptibly downwards over generations
When Daniel Pauly joined the UBC faculty three decades ago, Dr. Dave Preikshot was one of his first two graduate students. They collaborated on research projects from 1995 through 2007. Dave Preikshot is now the Senior Environmental Specialist with the Municipality of North Cowichan.
The “story behind the story” of Dave Preikshot provides insights that will inform his peers in local government as well as elected representatives about protecting streams and reducing risks.
We often limit ourselves to sustaining leftovers:
“The opportunity to learn from Daniel Pauly and do ecosystem modelling at the UBC Fisheries Centre was fantastic because I got to do work on ecosystem projects in Puget Sound, Alaska, Iceland and Chesapeake Bay,” recalls Dave Preikshot.
“A lot of our focus right now is recognizing the value of First Nations oral history and First Nations environmental knowledge. What I learned from Daniel Pauly about the Shifting Baseline Syndrome in the 1990s predisposed me to thinking along these lines.”
TO LEARN MORE:
To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Why aquatic scientists look at things in an integrative way.
