“The day is divided into two parts, with the sub-theme unifying the two parts being alignment of efforts at a watershed scale. First, we focus on establishing expectations – this is what we want our valley to look like! Then the spotlight shifts to delivering on expectations – this is how we will get there,” reports Glenn Westendorp,
“To promote a holistic approach to infrastructure asset management, we have crystallized three key objectives for Sustainable Service Delivery: pay down the legacy cost of existing hard infrastructure; reduce the life-cycle cost of new hard infrastructure; and, shift from gray to green to protect downstream values,” stated Kevin Lagan.
“We know that the time to shape future life-cycle costs is at the infrastructure planning ‘front-end’; and we recognize the importance of thinking at a watershed scale. Protection of a community’s natural resources is an important piece in Sustainable Service Delivery,” states Kevin Lorette.
“We ended the 2011 Series on a high note. There was energy in the room; everyone was still. engaged; and there was enthusiasm for moving to the next step.The discussion could easily continued past our 3pm cut-off time. But we have made it a practice of starting and finishing on-time,” reported Kim Stephens.
“Collaboration with CAVI creates an opportunity for success in moving forward with the Link Project. CAVI has been building credibility and a network in a local government setting. CAVI can inform the VIEA implementation plan and provide a springboard for expanded action,” stated Cori Lynn Germiquet.
Showcasing of the Cowichan Valley experience creates an opportunity for inter-valley sharing. “The valley has experienced many flood events resulting from high flows in the Cowichan River and its tributaries, and from ponding in low-lying areas during heavy rain events,” states Kate Miller.
“the fall of 2009, there were more pink salmon in the river than had been seen in 50 years. The exciting thing about this is that now we can go to work and repair the ecosystems. We can actually restore fish habitat and end up with a system that’s going to be self-sustaining,” stated Jack Minard.
“The Tsolum story underscores the value of community stewards working collaboratively with government agencies and the private sector towards a common vision. It also highlights the need for dedicated insiders within government who ‘stay the course’ and remain committed,” wrote Eric Bonham.
“What we’re finding is that preliminarily, the Tsolum is not responding any differently than other watersheds on the east coast in terms of increased floods. What we do in terms of how we manage forests is we manage to very low risk of increasing peak flows by spreading our harvest around the watershed,” reported Domenico Iannidinardo.
“Mitigation and adaptation are both necessary and complementary strategies to cope with the climate change challenge. If mitigation is about CARBON, then adaptation is about WATER. Designing with nature captures the essence of climate change adaptation” stated MLA John Slater.
