“Sustainability is a buzzword. We hear it daily, but what does it mean in the community context? The conference provided a timely opportunity for three leading British Columnbian proponents of water-centric sustainability to collaborate in explaining what it means to move along the “soft path” of water use in neighbourhoods and communities,” stated Joanne deVries.
“While climate change will be the challenge of this generation — water will be THE critical resource for the 21st Century. We must protect, restore and enhance our understanding of this most fundamental resource. The era of water-centric planning is upon us. Now it is up to all of us to begin balancing our water budget,” stated Oliver Brandes.
“Our focus is on what level of water saving can be achieved through landscaped-based measures such as soil amendments and irrigation system improvements. The City has maximized the saving that can be achieved by reducing indoor water use. By tackling outdoor use, the target is to reduce peak water demand by a further 15% by 2012,” reported Don Degen.
“In having one-on-one conversations about green infrastructure, my objective was to see the world through the eyes of elected officials. That is an important first step in figuring out how to translate technical information into a form that elected officials can readily absorb so that they can make informed decisions,” stated Kim Stephens.
“A regional growth strategy is the most effective way to integrate the full range of government and non-government interests in a region, stated Meggin Messenger. “The preparation of a regional growth strategy involves all orders of government and the public in defining vision, goal and objective statements that respond to current and anticipated land use and development issues to meet the needs of current and future residents.”
“We build capacity through a 3-step process. First, we challenge practitioners and others to step back from their existing paradigms. Then we inform our audiences regarding alternatives. Finally, we provide the tools and experience to do things differently. The desired outcome is to turn ideas into action on-the-ground,” explained Ray Fung.
“The summit model was used because it focused on issues and responses and has resulted in an outline for action that follows from presentations on key water management themes in the South Okanagan and dialogue between presenters, panelists and participants,” stated Erik Karlsen.
“The decision to focus on the Town was a logical one because the Oliver region is the focal point for a Smart Growth on the Ground community planning initiative; as well, numerous provincial and federal agencies are concentrating their program efforts in the South Okanagan”, reports Kim Stephens.
“Convening for Action in the South Okanagan is playing a role by bringing together people who have knowledge and expertise with those who seek ways to meet present and future water sustainability challenges in their communities,” stated Kim Stephens. “Our goal is to deliver a highly transparent process where everyone gets a voice, everyone sees their interests recorded and considered, and everyone is proactively engaged to focus on results.”
“In 2005, we created the beneficial balance graphic to help Okanagan communities visualize how to address challenging priorities for land and water. The three circles represent core concepts emerging from the discussion of settlement, economic growth and water supply pressures. We define the intersection of these circles as the beneficial balance,” stated Tim Pringle.
