Water – Choosing Sustainability for Life and Livelihoods
In 2006, a mini-summit on water stewardship and sustainability in the South Okanagan commenced the branding process within British Columbia for use of the phrase ‘water for life and livelihoods' in order to focus people on what is at stake over both the short and long terms. The phrase conveys the fundamental principles of sustainability of natural systems in their own right and in relation to the health and well-being of people who benefit from the use of water for basic life needs and economic activity.
In their two-part presentation at the 2007 Annual Conference of the BC Water & Waste Assocation (BCWWA), Lynn Kriwoken and Ray Fung elaborated on how the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia is being delivered by the Water Sustainability Committee through a partnership with the Ministry of Environment.
According to Lynn Kriwoken (Director, Innovation & Planning Team, Water Stewardship Division, Ministry of Environment), “Water is the piece that integrates everything that we care about. You will note that we are using the phrase water stewardship, not water management. Stewardship is about replacing self interest, dependency and control with service, responsibility and partnership.”
“Convening for Action is our mantra”, continued Ray Fung, Chair, Water Sustainability Committee, “In a nutshell, we are saying that we do not want to get together at conferences or wherever just to talk. When we gather, it is for a purpose. There must be an action item or an outcome. Our aim is to move from talk to action by developing tools, building capacity, and providing training.”
To dowload a copy of the co-presentation by Lynn Kriwoken and Ray Fung, please click on this link to Water-Choosing Sustainability for Life and Livelihoods.
This was one of five cascading presentations that comprised a half-day session on Convening for Action in Brtish Columbia. The session was co-organized by the BCWWA Water Sustainability Committee (WSC) and the Green Infrastructure Partnership (GIP). For a comprehensive story that provides a synopsis of each presentation, please click here.
Posted May 2007