Beyond the Guidebook 2015 presents Time-Lines and Milestones for each regional "convening for action" story
Historical Context Provides Perspective on How Local Governments are ‘Convening for Action’ in the Georgia Basin
Local governments learn from each other and progress through sharing of case study experience. Beyond the Guidebook 2015: Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management tells five regional stories, that is – for the Capital, Cowichan, Nanaimo, Comox Valley and Metro Vancouver sub-regions within the Georgia Basin. Each storyline is built around a chronology titled Time-Line & Milestones, such as the one presented above.
Provincial and Regional Time-Lines
“Each regional time-line identifies milestones in the building blocks process. In addition, there is an overall or over-arching provincial storyline that links the five regional stories,” explains Kim Stephens, principal author of Beyond the Guidebook 
2015, and the Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. “The provincial milestones provide the basic structure and backbone that carries through each of the stories within the story.”
“The aspect or element that unifies the regional stories is the ‘convening for action’ program which is what inter-regional collaboration is about.”
“Over the past 20 years or so, there have been defining moments due to periodic initiatives by the provincial government. Occasionally these defining moments have resulted from pieces of legislation such as the Fish Protection Act or the Water Sustainability Act. For more often, however, it has been a guidance document such as Living Water Smart that has established a path forward for actions by local government.”
The Georgia Basin
Five Regional Stories
“The five regions are collaborating as an inter-regional team,” continues Kim Stephens. “The team approach cuts across boundaries, disciplines and sectors. Through this form of collaboration, local governments and partners can implement watershed-based solutions. The goal is to create a legacy that the team defines as healthy watersheds and streams.”
“Accepted ‘standards of practice’ – especially those for engineering, planning and finance – influence the form and function of the Built Environment. The goal of shifting to an ecologically functioning and resilient baseline and creating a watershed legacy will ultimately depend on the nature of change to standards of practice and changing to nature.”
“The five collaborating regions view the Watershed Health Goal through complementary lenses that together form a complete picture. These lenses are watershed plan effectiveness, watershed health assessment, climate change adaptation, sustainable service delivery, and sustainable partnerships.”
To download and read the individual stories about regional timelines, click on the links below:
To Learn More:
To download a copy of the entire 158-page Beyond the Guidebook 2015, click on this link: https://waterbucket.ca/viw/files/2015/11/Beyond-Guidebook-2015_final_Nov.pdf
