Program on Water Governance Workshop Series: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management in Canada
Municipal Water Supply Governance
Held in May 2008 at the University of British Columbia, the Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management in Canada Workshop was the second of two workshops held in association with the Infrastructure Canada funded project Municipal Water Supply Infrastructure Governance in Canada: Uptake of Conservation Technologies in the Context of Utility Restructuring.
The workshop followed from the second phase of the research project, which examined progressive municipal water efficiency and conservation programming across Canada.
“The objective of the workshop was to build and disseminate knowledge on effective programming for conservation and efficiency in municipal water supply in Canada,” states Karen Bakker, Director, Program on Water Governance at the University of British Columbia. “This was accomplished by bringing practitioners, policy makers and researchers from across Canada together to share experiences and to critically engage with the topic.”
The results of the workshop were used to refine this report: The Draft Policy Report – Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management: Linking Governance and Efficiency in Canada
To Learn More:
For more information about the workshop, click on Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management in Canada Workshop.
Featured Presentation
Kim Stephens, Program Coordinator for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia, was invited to make a keynote presentation built around the theme of climate change adaptation.
“
My presentation was organized in three parts. First, I introduced the across-Canada audience to our BC adaptation of the ‘design with nature’ philosophy. Then I talked about Convening for Action on Vancouver Island to provide an example of new forms of governance. The third and final part dealt with the linkage of infrastructure to climate change and infrastructure.”
“To capture audience attention and set a tone, I opened with a reference to Blue ecology and cllimate change, an article by Michael Blackstock that was published in the BC Journal of Ecosystems and Management.”
Blue Ecology and Climate Change
“Michael Blackstock proposes that we re-examine climate change from a ‘water first’ angle because the rhythm of water’s transformations between solid, liquid, and gaseous states on our planet is undergoing a significant change, and at a significant rate.”
“He sees as essential the acknowledgement of water’s central functional and spiritual roles in our world, and urges us to apply both respect and science-based understanding as we develop collaborative climate change mitigation strategies and instill this respect and understanding in younger generations.”
To Learn More:
To download a copy of the article by Michael Blackstock, click on Blue ecology and cllimate change.
To download a copy of the PowerPoint presentation by Kim Stephens, click on Our Climate is Changing…..Now What? — “Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk: How we can adapt“
To download an extract from the workshop report that elaborates on the PowerPoint slides, click here.
Posted December 2009