LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Part of the reason for the success of our shared responsibility way of thinking is a result of the efforts of various organizations who have managed to successfully engage governments, developers, the community, academia, etc., in water-centric thinking, planning and development activities. In many jurisdictions, water-centric has become a focus and part of our daily conversations,” stated John Finnie, Past-Chair (2006-2011), CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island
Note to Reader:
Inspired by the work of Daniel Pauly, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC published an essay in 2014 to provide historical context regarding a vision for re-setting the baseline. This could be achieved through implementation of a whole-system approach that integrates the site with the stream, watershed, and groundwater aquifer. The backgrounder connected the dots between Daniel Pauly’s work and the goals of Resilient Rainwater Management.
What Do We Want This Place to Look Like in 50 Years?
“With each new generation, the expectation of various ecological conditions shifts. The result is that standards are lowered almost imperceptibly,” stated the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Daniel Pauly during his TED Talk in 2010. Described by the NY Times as an iconoclastic fisheries scientist, he is a living legend in the world of marine biology.
“We transform the world, but we don’t remember it. We adjust our baseline to the new level, and we don’t recall what was there. You can have a succession of changes. At the end you want to sustain miserable leftovers. And the question is, why do people accept this? Well, because they don’t know that it was different,” stated Dr. Daniel Pauly, Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia.
“Every generation will use the images that they got at the beginning of their conscious lives as a standard and will extrapolate forward. And the difference then, they perceive as a loss. But they don’t perceive what happened before as a loss.”
Accept the Call to Action
“In BC, the Partnership challenges our audiences by posing this question: what do you want this place to look like in 50 years? The decisions we make today will ripple through time. We do have a choice – will it be cumulative impacts or cumulative benefits?” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
“Looking back, 2008 was a defining year for ‘designing with nature’ on Canada’s west coast. The government of British Columbia put in place a policy framework that is a ‘call to action’ on the part of local governments.”
“The call to action is to build greener communities, live water smart and adapt to a changing climate. A guiding premise is that water sustainability will be achieved by ‘designing with nature’ and implementing green infrastructure policies and practices that ‘mimic the natural water balance’. We are getting there because we have changed our mindset.”
Embrace Shared Responsibility
“This call to action is underpinned by the notion of shared responsibility – that is, everyone needs to understand and care about THE GOAL. If all the players know their role in relation to the goal, then together we can create the desired future,” added John Finnie, retired General Manager of Regional and Community Utilities with the Regional District of Nanaimo, and the Past-Chair of the CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island.
“Part of the reason for the success in BC of our shared responsibility way of thinking is a result of the efforts of various organizations who have managed to successfully engage governments, developers, the community, academia, etc., in water-centric thinking, planning and development activities. In many jurisdictions, water-centric has become a focus and part of our daily conversations.”
TO LEARN MORE:
To read the complete story, originally published in 2014, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Shifting Baseline Syndrome and Resilient Rainwater Management.
