Convening for Action in British Columbia

The Gaining Ground conference program was designed to foster a convergence of ideas and people, approaches and professions, to ensure the conference ‘conversation’ is rich and charged with potential for new thought and collaboration. World class speakers included Paul Hawken.

The “Celebrating Green Infrastructure Program” was launched in May 2006 when the first event in the 'Showcasing Innovation Series'was hosted by the District of North Vancouver. The Greater Vancouver program was a provincial pilot.

“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.

”Here in the Okanagan we are facing our own water issues as a result of unsustainable forms of development that are now leading to unprecedented levels of habitat and species extinction. Equity of access to water is also an issue that is becoming more problematic as water becomes an increasingly scarce resource,” stated John Wagner.

“Land use planning cannot be disconnected from water use planning. People’s transformation of the landscape has impacts on the natural water balance. We must move towards ‘water-centric’ planning, where water is a key consideration, whether planning for a site or for the entire province. In 2003, droughts, forest fires and floods created a teachable moment,” stated Kim Stephens.

Dr. Jeff Curtis posed this question to the audience to provide context for the panel discussion: “How long until we run out of water in the Okanagan during a drought year?” He then proceeded to illustrate the inevitability of a collision course. His key message was that the time horizon is relatively short.

Too often, communities respond to 21st century water problems with 20th century solutions— bigger pipes and bigger pumps leading to bigger tax bills” says Michael M’Gonigle, Eco- Research Chair of Law and Policy at the University of Victoria. “Communities are missing out the full potential of water conservation and efficiency.”

Developed by a BC-based Inter-Governmental Partnership as an extension of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, the Water Balance Model for Canada enables users to compare scenarios for rainwater runoff volume reduction in order to achieve a light 'hydrologic footprint'. The tool is developed by a consortium of local, regional, provincial and federal agencies.