CONVENING FOR ACTION ALONG THE EAST COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND: Comox Valley Regional District shares its successes and challenges in protecting water resources at inter-regional meeting held in April 2017
Note to Reader:
Everyone learns from stories. In the world of local government, the most compelling are the stories of champions who are leading or pioneering changes in the way local government delivers services.
In April 2017, the Cowichan Valley Regional District hosted a meeting of mid-Vancouver Island regional districts (Cowichan Valley, Nanaimo Region and Comox Valley). Their purpose in meeting was to share successes and challenges in protecting water resources.
Collaborative Process =
Community Support
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The essence of the story that we shared with our peers is that the Watershed Advisory Group (WAG) delivered a Watershed Protection Plan that was fully implementable, and WAG did it within a year,” reports Marc Rutten, General Manager of Engineering Services Branch.
Comox Lake Watershed Protection Plan
“While the process was guided by a consultant, the content of the plan was developed and reviewed by a comprehensive group of stakeholders representing a broad variety of interests. As such, the implementation of the plan has a very high level of community support,” explains Zoe Norcross-Nu’u, Watershed Coordinator.
“This collaborative process and its positive outcome is something that the Comox Valley is proud of, and we were honoured to be asked to share the details of our process with our neighbouring regional districts. 
“Coming together as neighbouring regional governments has definitely strengthened our relationships and increased the amount of inter-regional communication and sharing of methodologies, ideas, strategies and information – something all of our communities are benefitting from.”
To Learn More:
To read the complete story, download Peer-based Learning is Motivating and Powerful – Moving Towards “Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management”, released in May 2017.
