PARTNERSHIP FOR WATER SUSTAINABILITY PASSES ECOLOGICAL ACOUNTING BATON TO VANCOUVER ISLAND UNIVERSITY: “EAP is cutting edge. It is innovative, very new and very unique. And it has the ability to really change the game,” stated Graham Sakaki, Regional Research Institute Manager
Note to Reader:
The Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter includes an article written by Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC. The article is an interview with Graham Sakaki of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University. The Partnership is handing the baton to MABRRI to be the home for the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP).
EAP will be embedded in MABRRI
“A theme dominating the news these days is the shortage of skilled, trained or qualified people. Investing in people takes patience, commitment and time. There is no shortcut to build in-house capacity,” wrote Kim Stephens.
“The City of Nanaimo, Municipality of North Cowichan, and Regional District of Nanaimo have taken the leap of faith to invest in youth at Vancouver Island University. The mission is to develop next generations of local government staffs so that they have the knowledge and understanding to apply EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process to land use processes.”
“EAP is about maintenance and management (M&M) of stream corridor systems. The spotlight is on outcomes. The short story about EAP is that it provides local government with the methodology and metrics so that they can use “real numbers” to establish annual budgets for line items within Asset Management Plans.”
“The Partnership for Water Sustainability is passing the “EAP baton” to the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University to be the knowledge keeper. EAP will be embedded in MABRRI.”
Story behind the story
“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,” stated Graham Sakaki, MABRRI Manager.
“There are lots of partnerships that exist for selfish reasons. But the EAP Partnership is selfless, and from all angles. It is a leap of faith for member local governments. Partnership for Water Sustainability commitment to passing the baton is unwavering.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete article, download the Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter.
