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
Note to Reader:
Held every five years as a 3-day event, the BC Land Summit is a watershed moment for showcasing new ideas. In 2024, the Partnership for Water Sustainability delivered two 90-minute interactive sessions under the banner Caring for the Land Means Going Beyond Just Doing Enough. These sessions were cascading and integrated.
In the second session, adjunct professor Tim Pringle tag-teamed with program coordinator Anna Lawrence and Sam Gerrand to tell the story of Year One of the 3-year transition strategy to embed EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, at Vancouver Island University. The edition of Waterbucket eNews published on April 16, 2024 features their story. An extract from the Story Behind the Story is reproduced below.
Reflections by Sam Gerrand on the potential for EAP as a predictive tool
“A year ago, I was an outsider to the topic. It has been a fun journey learning what EAP is and the potential for its application.”
“It has also been exciting because I have a background in geographic information science and geography. And so I approached my project with the lens of that technical skillset and an applied topic.”
“As well, I spent a lot of time as a kid growing up around creeks and streams. My dad was involved in riparian area management. So I have an attachment to the research topic.”
What it means to do a deeper dive into the numbers
“The cool part is that because I worked on this project in an academic setting, I was able to investigate in more detail how EAP could be applied in a different way or even changed to be more useful to practitioners.”
“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.”
“The exciting part of what I found is the strong relationship between land use intensity and the financial values of the streams that we are finding in the EAP studies.”
“What makes it exciting 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 for the Natural Commons Asset financial value is within 5%.”
“That finding is really encouraging in terms of what it means for local governments. They can move forward in an affordable and effective way to deliver timely solutions,” concludes Sam Gerrand.
Natural Commons Asset defined:
The NCA is the portion of the stream corridor that lies in the regulated streamside setback zone as defined in the Riparian Areas Protection Regulation Act. The NCA width is the sum of the stream width plus the setback distance on each side of the stream.
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: EAP is a financial tool to help streams survive.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/04/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_EAP-Partnership-and-intergenerational-baton_2024.pdf
Sam Gerrand’s thesis is the EAP springboard to a regional scale to make the financial case for action in at-risk watersheds
“We have a two-step plan. We have brought the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University into the EAP Partnership. This expands the pool of graduate students to do EAP theses. In 2025, Step One is underway in the Metro Vancouver region,” explains Tim Pringle.
“In 2026, as Step Two, a master’s thesis will create a predictive tool to quantify the financial implications of increased development density and provincial housing policies regarding the Riparian Deficit.”
“As we evolve EAP through more projects, and use Sam’s thesis as the springboard, we will be able to say here is the utility for planners and it is based on these rules of thumb,” concludes Tim Pringle.
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a copy Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Urban streams are municipal assets; they supply ecological services.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2025/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Tim-Pringle-and-Metro-Vancouver-EAP-project_2025.pdf