LIVING WATER SMART: Shared Responsibility Underpins a Regional Team Approach to Creating Our Future in British Columbia – “By choosing to live water smart, communities will be more prepared for climate change and their quality of life will be enhanced. If we can show how to get the water part right, then other parts are more likely to follow,” stated Lynn Kriwoken (2009)
Note to Reader:
In December 2009, the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia released a Backgrounder that discusses how the Province has enabled local government by providing law and policy tools to help communities achieve water sustainability and manage settlement change in balance with ecology.
Settlement Change in Balance with Ecology
The Province of British Columbia has put in place a policy framework that enables local governments to commit to doing business differently: This is what we want our communities to look like in 50 years, and this is what we will do starting now to ensure it happens.
“Achieving the vision for settlement change in balance with ecology will require a ‘regional team approach’ that is founded on the notion of shared responsibility,” states Kim Stephens, Program Coordinator for the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia.
To Learn More:
To learn more about what this means on the ground, click on Water for Life and Livelihoods: How does a community balance settlement change and ecology?
Alignment with Living Water Smart Vision
“The Province’s Living Water Smart and the Green Communities Initiative must be viewed as an integrated package. Living Water Smart presents the vision, and the Green Communities Initiative provides enabling tools to achieve the vision for settlement change in balance with ecology,” states Kim Stephens.
“A ‘regional team approach’ to achieve the vision is founded on partnerships and collaboration; and seeks to align local actions with provincial and regional goals.”
Provincial Context for Regional Team Approach
“At the end of the day, planners and engineers and other disciplines must come together to determine the issues and solutions,” states Lynn Kriwoken of the Ministry of Environment.
Lynn Kriwoken is a Director in the Water Stewardship Division, and is the Province’s lead person for development and delivery of Living Water Smart.
“This is why we constantly emphasize that Living Water Smart is about motivating and inspiring everyone to embrace shared responsibility. Influencing behaviour and attitudes is at the heart of moving from awareness to action.”
About Shared Responsibility
To download a copy of the discussion document released by the Water Sustainability Action Plan in December 2009, click on Backgrounder: Shared Responsibility Underpins a Regional Team Approach to Creating Our Future in British Columbia