Convening for Action in British Columbia

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE PARTNERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY: “The Water Sustainability Action Plan is the raison d’être for The Partnership,” observed Erik Karlsen when the water-centric roundtable morphed into a non-profit legal entity in 2010

November 18, 2025 - Posted in Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia - A Short History

Note to Reader:

The early history of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia is presented in the contextual document titled Celebration of Our Story: Genesis / First Decade / What Next, published in November 2020. The following article is the 3rd in a series of extracts from this key document. The main takeaway is that the Water Sustainability Action Plan uses existing and emerging provincial policies, legislation as starting points and builds on them.

**Water Sustainability Action Plan is the raison d’être for the Partnership for Water Sustainability**

Released in February 2004, the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia introduced a framework for building partnerships. It also demonstrated what could be achieved through a ‘top-down & bottom-up strategy’ – especially when it aligns efforts at the provincial, regional and local scales to respond and adapt to a changing world.

Incorporation of the Partnership for Water Sustainability as an independent legal entity was a transformative decision in 2010. It ensured the legacy and sustainability of tools, resources and programs developed under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia; and delivered through inter-governmental partnerships.

Integration and Shared Responsibility are Core Concepts in the Water Sustainability Action Plan

“Land use planning and water management practices are intertwined. For this reason, the intent of the Action Plan is to influence choices and encourage action by individuals and organizations – so that water resource stewardship will become an integral part of land use and daily living,” states the Executive Summary for the Action Plan.

“Partnerships hold the key to building broad-based support for improving water management practices, and for integration of water management with land use.”

“The Action Plan has been developed as a shared responsibility. It recognizes that numerous groups and organizations implicitly share a vision for integrated water management.”

A teachable moment created the opportunity to develop the Water Sustainability Action Plan

“The drought, forest fires and floods that British Columbia experienced in 2003 created a ‘teachable moment’ for change in the way we view water in this province. Capitalizing on this opportunity, our roundtable of land and water champions created the Water Sustainability Action Plan. The government of BC funded Action Plan development,” explained Kim Stephens, Partnership Executive Director.

“Timing is everything – a successful outcome requires that the right people be in the right place at the right time,” he wrote in Celebration of Our Story: Genesis / First Decade / What Next.

Water Sustainability Action Plan served as the model for a New Business As Usual

“When developing the Water Sustainability Action Plan, we applied lessons we learned from delivering A Water Conservation Strategy for BC several years earlier,” reported Kim Stephens. “The irony is that the Strategy was seen as a success, yet in our minds we had failed. Why would we believe that, the reader may well ask?”

“Well, the model for the Water Conservation Strategy was a traditional top-down one. The Province appointed an expert team; the team created the Strategy; the team then fanned out and made presentations over a 3-year period. This approach is neither self-sustaining nor self-perpetuating,” stated Eric Bonham, a member of the Water Conservation Strategy Working Group that was led by Prad Khare of the Ministry of Environment.

Water Sustainability Action Plan as explained by Erik Karlsen, the Partnership’s éminence grise

“The Water Sustainability Action Plan uses existing and emerging provincial government policies, legislation as fundamental starting points and builds on these. The target audience is comprised of those who share a vision for creating transformational change in the way water resources are valued and managed in British Columbia,” stated Erik Karlsen, an Action Plan co-author and former Director of Regional Growth Strategies in the Ministry of Municipal Affairs.

“The focus of the 2004 Action Plan document is on the framework for building partnerships, and that is the tag-line. The document is a communication tool – that is, it articulates the vision and the desired outcomes for a water-centric approach to development.”

“The water-centric approach recognizes that the greatest impact on water occurs through our individual values, choices and behavior – that is, our land ethic. The water-centric approach also enables consideration and application of an ecosystem perspective that links physical, biological and human perspectives.”

Partnership Architecture for the elements of the Water Sustainability Action Plan

“The bottom-up approach is founded on partnerships. Success relies on a ‘partnership architecture’ that solidifies commitment to achieving practical outcomes under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” Erik Karlsen emphasized in his teachings.

Continuum of Water Use

“Building from the bottom-up means that the Water Sustainability Action Plan is an amalgam of partnership initiatives – described as Action Plan Elements. These link people, land and water. The outer ring in the Action Plan branding image (below) symbolizes a continuum of water use by people and communities, and from an ecosystem perspective.”

Three Threads for Building Partnerships

In 2004, the Water Sustainability Action Plan comprised six elements. Over time, and as support has grown provincially for water stewardship in a changing climate, the original six have spawned new program elements. Defined by Erik Karlsen, three ‘threads’ reflect the breadth of roles that the Partnership plays:

Thread One – Initiator > where The Partnership is the vehicle for direct action.

Thread Two – Collaborator > where The Partnership is the vehicle provider for others.

Thread Three – Educator > where The Partnership spans boundaries as the connector of initiatives or is an education facilitator.

To Learn More:

To read the complete story about the early history of the Partnership, download a copy of Celebration of Our Story: Genesis / First Decade / What Next. It is structured in two part parts. Part One sketches an outline of many ideas and nuances about the work of The Partnership. Part Two is a deeper dive as shown in the storyboard below.