IDEA FOR EAP SEEDED IN BEYOND THE GUIDEBOOK 2015: “My conversation with Ian Rogalski at the end of 2014 was the spark that set me off on a six-year program of applied research to develop the methodology and metrics for EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process,” recalled Tim Pringle, EAP Chair and adjunct professor at Vancouver Island University
“It was December 2014 in Victoria when Ian Rogalski, an economist with Environment Canada, attended the Partnership’s annual year-end Water Sustainability Workshop. As the legendary Erik Karlsen would often say, it takes a conversation to bring ideas forth. Ian and I had a conversation which is a key part of the story behind the story of EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process,” recalls Tim Pringle. “Fast forward to November 2015. Kim Stephens and I made a last-minute decision to seed the idea for EAP in Beyond the Guidebook 2015. It has proven to be a consequential decision.”
WHERE EAP IS SITUATED ON THE ASSET MANAGEMENT CONTINUUM: “The ultimate vision for Sustainability Service Delivery is that communities would manage natural assets in the same way that they manage their engineered assets,” stated Glen Brown, Chair of Asset Management BC, when he unveiled the continuum idea (Dec 2015)
“Implementation of asset management along with the associated evolution of local government thinking is a continuous process, not a discrete task. We needed a way to illustrate this diagrammatically. This led us to the concept of a continuum,” explained Glen Brown at the third in the Partnership’s Water Sustainability Workshop Series. “The continuum bridges two pieces. One piece is recognition that the asset management process is founded on an incremental approach. The other piece is integration of natural capital, natural assets and watershed systems thinking.”
HOW WE CHANGE WHAT WE ARE DOING ON THE LANDSCAPE: Synthesis Report on EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, a BC Strategy for Community Investment in Stream Systems (released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability, June 2022)
“In 2016, the Partnership embarked upon a 6-year program of applied research to evolve EAP through a 3-stage building blocks process of testing, refining, and mainstreaming the methodology and metrics for financial valuation of stream systems. The program involved 9 case studies and 13 local governments and yielded 19 “big ideas” or foundational concepts. The program goal was to answer the question, how much should communities budget each year for maintenance and management of stream systems,” stated Tim Pringle.
REIMAGINE URBAN GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE AS AN ECOSYSTEM: In 2022, Dr. Zbigniew Grabowski burst onto the local government scene in the United States with “What is green infrastructure? A study of definitions in US city planning”, a seminal study that provides perspective for judging the British Columbia green infrastructure journey in context
“My work is about a new paradigm that addresses root causes of water quality issues by moving away from the modernist project of humans as separate from nature. Because academic systems are not really lined up with deep transformative action, I felt I had to jump ship and start swimming with the current,” stated Zbigniew Grabowski. He has made the leap from university professor and researcher to executive director of a grassroots watershed alliance which is tribally co-governed. His work aligns with that of Tim Pringle, creator of the methodology and metrics for EAP.
EAP TRANSITION STRATEGY PARTNERSHIP: “There are lots of partnerships that exist for selfish reasons. But the EAP Partnership is selfless; and from all angles. The strategy ensures that knowledge is retained at an institutional level, that is, Vancouver Island University,” stated Graham Sakaki, Manager of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute
“The story behind the story is about the importance of embedding knowledge of EAP into the youth who are going to be the future of our local governments. The framework that we have set up ensures this will happen. Vancouver Island University, as a smaller university, is very focused on applied research and community engagement. This is a good fit for the EAP mission. The program enhances the ability of students to take part in applied research and have direct links to future jobs with these local governments who are providing project work experience for students,” stated Graham Sakaki.
METRO VANCOUVER LEGACY RESEARCH IS A BENCHMARK FOR WATERSHED HEALTH: “When local governments obtain a financial value for streams as spatial assets, they can include them in their asset management plans and budgets,” stated Tim Pringle, Adjunct Faculty with the Master of Community Planning Department at Vancouver Island University
“Context is everything. In 1999, the science was brand new and the Streamside Protection Regulation was still two years away from becoming law. This context underscores just how far ahead of the game that Metro Vancouver was with its watershed health rating system. This is context for Metro Vancouver coming full circle to build on seminal applied research undertaken in the Metro Vancouver and Puget Sound regions in the late 1990s.This legacy work provides us with a benchmark for comparison of watershed health assessments then and now,” stated Tim Pringle.
APPLICATION OF THE ECOLOGICAL ACCOUNTING PROCESS: “The exciting part is the accuracy of land use intensity as an indicator for use of EAP as a predictive tool at the regional scale. The difference between predicted and actual values is within 5%,” stated Sam Gerrand, the first graduate student to complete a master’s degree on the Ecological Accounting Process
“In my thesis, I looked at ways to simplify the process for moving EAP to the regional scale and lower the boundaries to entry on different types of projects,” stated Sam Gerrand, a graduate in the Master of Community Planning program at Vancouver Island University. “It has been exciting because my research looked at ways we could take EAP from a stream-by-stream approach and apply it to a watershed scale or a regional scale. This might be really useful and cost-effective for local governments that have multiple streams in their jurisdiction.”
LAND PLANNING PERSPECTIVE FOR RISK REDUCTION ON STREAMS: “Urban streams are rarely managed as ecological systems or as municipal assets. Rather, they are sliced and diced to suit land development objectives,” Tim Pringle, Chair of the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP)
“The starting point for EAP is Natural Asset Management. We are taking a spatial approach. We deal with parcels which is as spatial as you can get. We need readers to understand that in order for EAP to be real to them. It lets local governments know the financial value of their streams as a Natural Commons Asset. Next, we are moving EAP from a primary emphasis on Asset Management to use by planners for spatial analysis related to streams and trees. As we evolve EAP through more projects, we will be able to say here are rules of thumb for planners,” stated Tim Pringle.
AN ENGINEERING PERSPECTIVE GROUNDS NATURAL ASSET MANAGEMENT: “We see EAP as a closely aligned initiative with the things that we promised to do in the 10-year work plan for the region’s Drinking Water & Watershed Protection Program,” stated Murray Walters, Manager of Water Services with the Regional District of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
“Our focus in moving forward with EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is on land we own. The RDN is all-in with our participation. As an organization, we need to get wiser about natural asset management. We need to be able to open people’s eyes about natural asset management in general and as an element of municipal infrastructure services. We also need to open eyes more so to the financial side of what these natural assets contribute. And vice versa. How much financial aid we need to put into these assets to allow them to do that,” stated Murray Walters.
AFFORDABLE, EFFECTIVE AND PRAGMATIC NATURAL ASSET MANAGEMENT: “The credibility of the Ecological Accounting Process is building. With UBCM involvement, it is about hitting that critical mass piece as you get more and more understanding,” stated Bill Sims, General Manager of Engineering and Public Works with the City of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island
“The EAP program is embedded in our Integrated Action Plan. This supports City Plan: Nanaimo Reimagined which provides direction for the coming 25 years on everything…land use, transportation, climate adaptation, etc. We made sure EAP is part of that. It is firmly rooted,” stated Bill Sims. “By being pragmatic and making the financial case using real numbers, we answer the question of why we should be investing in stream maintenance and management. You also need the Repetition Factor to reinforce what EAP stands for…so that people have the context in their minds.”
AT THE 2024 BC LAND SUMMIT: “Held in Nanaimo, the summit showcased the transition strategy for the passing of an intergenerational baton from the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC to create an EAP centre of excellence at Vancouver Island University,” stated Anna Lawrence, EAP Program Coordinator, in the EAP module for an integrated session with Blue Ecology titled Going Beyond Just Doing Enough (May 2024)
Because the audience comprised players involved in the land professions, the BC Land Summit was a watershed moment for showcasing new ideas. “The session about the Ecological Accounting Process began with Tim Pringle detailing EAP and its nine demonstration applications in local governments in BC. Then I spoke about Year 1 of the three-year transition strategy to transfer the knowledge and methodology of EAP from the Partnership to VIU. We concluded with a pre-recorded video segment by Sam Gerrand about incorporating EAP into his Master’s thesis,” stated Anna Lawrence.