Water Sustainability Vision: Settlement in Balance with Ecology
A highlight of the 2007 Annual Conference of the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities was a pre-conference session titled Creating Our Future: Convening for Action on Vancouver Island (CAVI). The pre-conference session was organized in three parts and was delivered by a presentation team comprising Tim Pringle (Executive Director, Real Estate Foundation of BC), Kim Stephens (Program Coordinator, Water Sustainability Action Plan for BC), and Patrick Lucey (Nature's Revenue Streams).
Tim Pringle opened his presentation by stating that,”Residents of growth communities think of themselves as being rural places, but people want urban services.” He then asked, “How does a community weigh the benefits and liabilities of change driven by demand for land use? What will determine long-term wellbeing for a community or region when nature is becoming commoditized?”
Pringle captured the attention of his audience when he presented statistical data
on the demand for land as measured by the total dollar value for all development permits. He compared the period 2001-2003 to 2004-2006 for each of the sub-regions that comprise Vancouver Island. Then he compared the Island with other regions in the province. Only the Northeast Region has been experiencing a faster growth in demand, and that is due to the oil boom in that region. To download a copy of Tim's presentation, please click on this link to Green Value: Craze, Crazy or Crafty?
Convening for Action on Vancouver Island Partnership
The CAVI Partnership includes the British Columbia Water & Waste Association, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia, the provincial Ministries of Environment and Community Services, and the Green Infrastructure Partnership. For the complete story on the three presentations at the 2007 Annual Conference of the Association of Vancouver Island Coastal Communities, which was held at Qualicum Beach, please click here.
Posted May 2007