Convening for Action in British Columbia

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ecological accounting process

    CONVENING FOR ACTION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “Chuck Gale brought instant credibility as chair because of his stature among local governments and with the Province,” recalls Ray Fung, a retired Director of Engineering in local government, and former Chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership


    As a City Engineer for three Metro Vancouver municipalities over the course of his career, Chuck Gale was a leading voice in the municipal engineering community. He was the driving force behind formation of the Green Infrastructure Partnership. “When we formed the GIP in 2003, green infrastructure was an emerging concept. The paradigm-shift that then occurred far exceeds our original expectation that the partnership would be a catalyst for change,” stated Chuck Gale a decade later.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Green Infrastructure Innovation in the Metro Vancouver region” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2024


    “Bringing together and inspiring people, especially those in the trenches, to keep fighting the good fight,” stated Ray Fung. “That is basically what we did in the 2000s and continue to do! How do you judge that time with the advantage of hindsight? It is always a confluence of different things.” In the 2000s, the Green Infrastructure Partnership played a prominent role in leading changes in local government attitudes in the Metro Vancouver region. This influence cascaded from elected representative at Municipal Council and Regional Board tables to practitioners in the trenches.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Regional Growth Strategies for Healthy Communities” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in May 2024


    “In the 2000s, we understood that we were going to have to do cities quite differently if we wanted to achieve the sustainability goals that we had set for ourselves. The Province passed the Regional Growth Strategies Act in 1994. This brought back a regional planning structure after BC had been without one for 10 years or so. The intent of the legislation was regional planning across a whole range of values. It was my job to implement regional growth management. We had not done something like that before. It was much more than pure land use planning,” stated Dale Wall.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: ‘Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Georgia Basin Initiative legacy ripples thru time” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “The 1990s was a very heady time in government in terms of land use planning and natural resource management. Some initiatives were not implemented all that well, but the Georgia Basin Initiative was the exception. “Launched in 1994, it did exactly what it was intended to do, Moreover, even though it only existed as an entity for a couple of years, it spawned a whole number of other initiatives and programs, some of which blossomed and still exist today,” stated Joan Sawicki, Parliamentary Secretary for the Georgia Basin Initiative during the period 1994-1996.

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    GEORGIA BASIN INITIATIVE LEGACY RIPPLES THROUGH TIME: “If we have lost anything in the last 30 years, it is a strong provincial commitment to supporting community and regional planning,” stated Joan Sawicki, land and resource management champion, and former provincial cabinet minister


    “When you think of the issues we face today….weather extremes, drying rivers, degraded streams, frequent wildfires, population growth, housing affordability…they are no different than they were 30 years ago. They are just more complex and more urgent. We need a renewed provincial provincial emphasis – and yes, that means budget – on supporting community and regional planning and we need another Darlene Marzari. She was the single most important reason for the success of the Georgia Basin Initiative. Darlene Marzari had the knowledge, experience and quiet resolve to make things happen,” stated Joan Sawicki.

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    DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Balancing Act – H2O and Healthy Streams” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024


    “Students are always looking for projects where they can make a difference. The idea was how can we bring more science into development to make a difference. I have always looked for people who are within the system but want to make a change. They are the leaders. And if we can contribute some science to these leaders, they can make the difference, not us. All we do is provide the data. And so, connecting with Richard Boase in the 1990s was really fundamental because he is on the inside,” stated UBC’s Dr. Hans Schreier.

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    BRING THE SCIENCE INTO LOCAL GOVERNMENT: “Hans Schreier of UBC ignited my passion in the mid-1990s when the District worked with UBC on applied research. What we learned was transformational. We then turned our minds to the role of green infrastructure in protecting streams from urban impacts,” stated Richard Boase, career environmental champion within local government in the Metro Vancouver region


    “The UBC research team led by Hans Schreier and Ken Hall dated all these sediment cores from Burnaby Lake and extracted sediments from certain years. They identified, for example, when lead stopped being used in gasoline. They also showed how pollutants in road runoff work their way through the drainage networks and into streams where they deposit. It was an inspiring moment for me. I saw a path forward for making a difference. That was the moment when I realized why we must do a better job of erosion and sediment control,” stated Richard Boase.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “The phrase attitude change goes to the heart of what the Partnership session will showcase at the Land Summit. With an attitude change, anything is possible,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Sustainability


    “At the BC Land Summit, the Partnership will deliver two 90-minute interactive sessions under the banner Going Beyond Just Doing Enough. In the first session, Richard Boase and Paul Chapman explain what the Blue Ecology vision for an attitude change looks like through the local government and stewardship sector lenses. In the second session, a team led by Tim Pringle presents the methodology and metrics for tackling the Riparian Deficit. Because local government Asset Management Plans need real financial values, EAP fills a gap,” stated Kim Stephens.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “Streams need a place to be. If we cannot get our heads around that, we are not going to keep our streams,” stated Tim Pringle, a founding director and Past-President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability


    “Because nature is a system, you cannot slice and dice it. EAP recognizes this and is a financial tool to give streams the support they need to survive. EAP provides a value picture of a stream system as a land use. How are Blue Ecology and EAP interconnected? Blue Ecology emphasizes the social perspective for protecting watersheds and streams. EAP shows how to achieve that outcome. EAP builds on the ‘big idea’ that use and conservation of land are equal values. Where Blue Ecology and EAP come together is in recognizing the importance of water and ecological assets in those two contexts,” stated Tim Pringle.

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    CONVENING FOR ACTION AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is an expression of Blue Ecology. Both are all about a restorative framework and mindset,” stated Richard Boase, career environmental champion within local government


    “We must do a better job of protecting streams. I am in a position now to reflect on this because I believe I have earned that right over the course of a 30-year career. Given how much I have seen, done and been exposed to in my local government career, it is fair for me to reflect on what has happened and comment on why local governments have not been as successful as we would have wanted. But we must focus on the path forward so that we protect or enhance stream systems in the built environment,” stated Richard Boase.

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