IMPORTANCE OF THE PARCEL IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONTEXT: “John Henneberry’s pioneering work in the United Kingdom serves as validation of how EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, looks at streams and water assets as a system,” stated Tim Pringle, developer of the EAP methodology and an adjunct professor at Vancouver Island University
Note to Reader:
John Henneberry (1952-2021) was a source of inspiration for Tim Pringle during the early years of the EAP program. His pioneering work in the United Kingdom provided validation of the wisdom inherent in the whole-system philosophy that guides the EAP program. John Henneberry’s interests lay at the interface between planning and property.
Historical Context for Early Evolution of EAP as a Tool for Use by Local Governments to Balance Use and Conservation of Land
“A conversation with Ian Rogalski of Environment Canada in December 2014 was the spark that launched Tim Pringle on a 6-year program of applied research. Within a year, we seeded the idea for the Ecological Accounting Protocol in Beyond the Guidebook 2015. Then began the hard work to bring the idea to fruition as something that would tangibly help local governments,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director with the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
“Context is important. In the 2010s, the idea for valuing ecological services was the new flavour of the month. We had seen this movie before in the 1990s when an idea becomes a passing fad. So, in advancing the EAP idea, Tim Pringle and the Partnership knew that we had to ground it in the real world of local government for it to have a life and a legacy.”
“Tim Pringle has grounded the EAP methodology and metrics in an understanding of what matters within the sphere of influence that Tim describes as the local government setting. His approach is a study in contrasts with the ecological economics perspective of academia. Not surprisingly, Tim Pringle felt like a lone voice in the wilderness. And then the worlds of Tim Pringle and John Henneberry intersected in December 2018. Everything changed.”
The moment of intersection came in 2018
“The article that John Henneberry wrote for The Conversation in 2018 was my Eureka Moment. His article was timely and had a major impact on me. John Henneberry was a chartered planner, chartered surveyor and an educator. In England, a chartered surveyor is a combination of appraiser and property analyst. They have pretty wide skills. In my opinion, his background was key to his world view,” explains Tim Pringle.
“John Henneberry came to the conclusion that impressed us. When talking about land and ecological assets…if you connect it to the way the land is laid out and chopped up, then you are not getting the full and proper picture. You are getting a distorted picture. You cannot slice and dice nature. You have to think about it as a system.”
“The only system in land use is regulation. I believe that John Henneberry would have said that regulation addresses the human desire to have communities work in a certain systematic way. It does nothing for ecology or natural assets. That is missing. The so-called systems perspective is all one sided. It ignores the natural side of it.”
“The work of the Partnership for Water sustainability in British Columbia to develop EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, identifies the same methodological problems that Professor Henneberry identifies in his article. Natural systems do not dissect conveniently in order to be quantified and given financial value.”
Distinction between financing and economic perspectives
“Early in the EAP journey, it became clear to Tim Pringle that ecological economics theory does not make sense when applied to the local government setting and asset management. Ecological economics determines general values for natural systems with emphasis on influencing policy and statistical measures. It does not drill down in a way that is helpful to local governments striving, under scrutiny, to make budget decisions,” adds Kim Stephens.
“The economics perspective is high level whereas the financing perspective is ground level. It is all well and good to influence policy statements about protecting ecological services in the urban environment. But in the local government setting, one must address two foundational questions.”
“Streams are municipal assets and provide four categories of ecological services: drainage, habitat, recreation and property enjoyment. If these is no stream, however, there are no ecological services.”
“If one cannot get the desired policy outcome across the finish line to make a tangible difference in protecting the stream as a municipal asset, then the high level idea becomes moot. Tim Pringle captures the disconnect between policy and outcome in a quotable quote that serves as a reality check.”
“To provide a relevant solution for local government, one must understand the local government context. EAP is unique because the methodology deals with the parcel. Case studies informed the research and validated the approach. We were in the midst of stage two of the applied research when the world views of Tim Pringle and John Henneberry intersected. Tim had validation from a thought leader. This reassured Tim that he was on the right path.”
“It was a revelation when we learned that John Henneberry was following a similar path in the United Kingdom. It is more than coincidental that he qualified both as a chartered planner and as a chartered surveyor, a rare but important combination. In other words, he understood the importance of the parcel, and this was one of his areas of research.”
EAP lens encompasses both the asset management and land planning perspectives
“Planners have a spatial way of looking at land use,” emphasizes Tim Pringle. “So, I imagine that they would like to have a means of understanding a stream from a spatial point of view…what is being measured, what are the metrics for doing that measurement, how do you use it. It has to be that basic.”
“The Ecological Accounting Process is about the condition and financial value of municipal stream assets that supply ecological services. 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.”
To learn more about the legacy of John Henneberry
To download the tribute by Tony Creek, click on IN MEMORIAM.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY OF EAP: “Nature appears more fragmented because we have to slice it into categories and dice those categories into bits before we can value bits of those bits. The sum of these parts is far short of the whole and does not capture the interconnectedness and holism of nature,” stated John Henneberry (1952-2021) Professor of Property Development Studies, University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
IN MEMORIAM: “The University of Sheffield’s John Henneberry (1952-2021) was a source of inspiration for me when we were initially developing the methodology and metrics for EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process. He identified the same methodological problems that we experienced in quantifying the financial value of ecological services. Natural systems do not dissect conveniently in order to be quantified and given financial value,” stated Tim Pringle, EAP Chair (October 2021)
EAP IS GAME-CHANGING: “With all the talk about integrating natural assets into asset management, the players forget that nature is a system. They focus too much on specific aspects of the system, rather than its interrelated functions,” stated Tim Pringle (Living Water Smart Series, October 2021)
VALUATION OF NATURE’S SERVICES: “Quantifying and valuing nature are complex tasks. Undertaking them alters our conception of nature. As a result of it, nature appears more fragmented,” wrote Professor John Henneberry (University of Sheffield) in a ‘think piece’ published in The Conversation (Dec 2018)
