“CAVI is a collective effort to see where we can go on Vancouver Island, and do it in a way that is a little bit different. CAVI represents a genuine team effort,” stated Eric Bonham.
CAVI is the acronym for Convening for Action on Vancouver Island. CAVI is a regional pilot program that is being implemented under the umbrella of the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia. By 2010, the CAVI vision is that Vancouver Island will be well on its way to achieving water sustainability.
“CAVI brings together those who plan and regulate land use (local government), those who build (developers) and those who provide the legislative framework (the Province),” states Jack Hall, REFBC Governor and founding member of the CAVI Leadership Team.
The REFBC uses the term “green value” as a generic reference to use and conservation of land and real estate that achieves social and economic goals while minimizing harmful effects on ecological assets.
“Communities in the Georgia Basin are being transformed by settlement and economic growth. The goal of the Green Leadership Leadership Forum is to start a conversation that will lead to a region-wide dialogue in 2008 around achieving settlement in balance with ecology on Vancouver Island,” stated Kim Stephens.
The workshop celebrated Vancouver Island success stories and provided context for green value, designing with nature, green infrastructure and water sustainability.
“The report is great. All forums/seminars should provide a similar recap, as it provides attendees the ability to easily share what they learned with others, and may possibly save the same attendees hours of report writing time if they are required to prepare summary reports for their senior managers or Committee/Councils,” stated Bryan Shoji.
“The Forum was designed to start a conversation that will lead to a region-wide dialogue about Why, Where and How development should occur on Vancouver Island,” stated Mary Miller.
“The CAVI role is to provide venues which create opportunities to start conversations that will ultimately lead to action. CAVI is facilitating the move from awareness (interest) to action(practice) in changing where and how land is developed, how water is used, and how water runs off the land,” stated John Finnie.
“A Positive Settlement Strategy means benefits exceed liabilities. Settlement and ecology are equal values, and they must be as much in balance as possible for the wellbeing of human and natural systems. We are convening for action so that we can provide practitioners with the tools and experience to implement Design with Nature policies and practices,” stated Tim Pringle.
