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Adapting to climate change requires transformation in how we perceive watershed worth and service land. It also requires community empowerment and stewardship sector partnerships with local government. “The symposium will draw attention to the value of ‘citizen science’ and how it can be leveraged to achieve two complementary objectives: educate the local community (public); and provide an impetus for political action that results in implementation of environmental policy at the local and/or provincial level,” stated Peter Law.

“Projected population growth would significantly increase various land use activities and enhance stress on groundwater resources, therefore it was mandated by the RDN to begin to develop a program that works towards reducing these impacts and increasing regional fresh water sustainability. For this reason, the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Region Research Institute and the RDN have partnered to redirect policy and land use decisions,” stated Ashley Van Acken. “The Wetlands Mapping Project aims to create an updated inventory of wetlands in the RDN.”

The Nanaimo Water Symposium will showcase the first demonstration applications of the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP) to assess ‘watershed worth’. “Looking through the ‘worth lens’ has led to a fundamental shift in the EAP approach: place less emphasis on monetization of ecological services; instead, focus on the investment of resources as well as aspirations of motivated stakeholders,” states Tim Pringle.

The Nanaimo River Watershed is a principal focus of the Nanaimo Area & Land Trust (NALT). “In 2011, NALT was the catalyst for bringing together a group of stakeholders to create the Nanaimo River Watershed Roundtable,” stated Paul Chapman. “Through the Roundtable, a group of stakeholders in the watershed who in the past might not have convened at the same table, have been able to gather and share information and where appropriate resources for the stewardship of the watershed and all the values, environmental, social and economic it supports.”

The Canadian Freshwater Alliance undertook research to determine what problems are affecting urban watersheds, why they’re happening, barriers local governments face in trying to address them, and how better supports could be developed under the province’s water framework. “Local governments play a large role when it comes to protecting watershed health. However, many watershed professionals working in local government feel stymied in their efforts to protect their local watersheds.” stated Christine Mettler.

Andy Reese coined the term Voodoo Hydrology in 2006 to describe drainage engineering and stormwater management practice. “We have for years relied upon common design methodologies and trusted their results. But, should we? It is an inexact science at best. We rely on judgment and guesswork,” states Andy Reese. He is an American water resources engineer & textbook author. “Perhaps, if we make enough estimates of enough factors, the errors will average out to the right answer. This is where voodoo really comes in handy.”

“Asset management is a continuous process, not a discrete task,” states Wally Wells. “Too much emphasis is too often placed on the ‘Asset Management Plan.’ The PLAN is only a part of the overall process. The asset management process is a continuum. The process starts with the engineered assets that local governments provide. Communities will progress along the continuum incrementally as their understanding grows. By also accounting for and integrating the services that nature provides, over time communities can achieve the goal of Sustainable Service Delivery for watershed systems.”

In 2007, Rob Lawrance set the context and introduced the unifying themes for the three City of Nanaimo presentations. “Our participation in the 2007 Showcasing Innovation Series served as a catalyst for the City of Nanaimo to evaluate our progress to that date, and reflect on lessons learned from our experience in piloting innovation,” recalled Rob Lawrance. “The City of Nanaimo showcasing focus was on three policies that each addressed public concerns on different scales. A decade ago, each policy and application represented a ‘first’ for either the region or the City of Nanaimo.”

“Future planners, engineers, scientists, politicians and citizens alike will be called upon to demonstrate both vision and pragmatism, working as a team towards consensus, commitment and collaboration for the common good. Such collaboration is essential and must cross all political and community boundaries given that climate change is no respecter of such creations. The Partnership has accepted this challenge and its implementation,” stated Eric Bonham.

“Community stewardship volunteers are demonstrating what it means to embrace ‘shared responsibility’ and take the initiative to lead by example. MVIHES secured funding from multiple agencies and developed the Shelly Creek Water Balance & Sediment Reduction Plan,” stated Peter Law. “The challenge for MVIHES is to facilitate the community’s journey from awareness to action, expressed as follows: Once a community as a whole acknowledges that there is a problem, and also understands why there is a problem, what will the community do about it?”