“The Case for Selling Our Water” – second of two excerpts from new book by Chris Wood
Atlanta’s drought, California’s fires, Mexico’s flood, Canada’s weird winters year after year… this book connects the dots in a lively way between the headlines, the climate science and the forecast for tomorrow and the day after. Dry Spring spells out the weather forecast for North America and the urgent reasons to begin preparing for the storm just over the horizon.
LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Linking water and land management at all levels is critical,” stated Oliver Brandes, POLIS, in an Op-Ed published by the Victoria Times-Colonist (June 2008)
“Not much will change without significantly increased budget commitments for
water. Also, an implementation strategy to achieve the targets and goals must be
established. These are the minimum requirements for turning rhetoric into reality. A long-overdue legislative overhaul of the B.C. Water Act is almost a certainty, but the
process for arriving at legislative proposals is vague,” stated Oliver Brandes.
Urban Development Institute commits to working with government to bring “Living Water Smart” vision to fruition – “Today we are on the brink of change. This is a special moment in time. We have been looking for a clear vision for this province in terms of its water resources,” stated Maureen Enser, Executive Director (June 2008)
“We’re interested in planning for long-term, balanced growth that will leave a legacy for the future – a strategy we see reflected in the Living Water Smart plan. Minister, this is phenomenal. We are committing ourselves as an industry to working with government at all levels to make sure this precious resource is protected for future generations,” stated Maureen Enser.
CONVENING FOR ACTION IN THE COMOX VALLEY: British Columbia’s Living Water Smart program is a provincial strategy and shared responsibility – “The message is that we are rewarding good behaviour,” stated Glen Brown at the 2nd in the Comox Valley seminar series (October 2008)
“This is a provincial strategy; we must look at it as a shared responsibility. It is not one strategy; the Province has a number of strategies. The Province is looking at raising the bar as far as what we are trying to accomplish with standards and provincial legislation. We really have to look at how we develop land. Ultimately this requires leadership and champions on the ground,” stated Glen Brown.
Living Water Smart: A Plan for Water Sustainability in British Columbia
Living Water Smart is a blueprint for cultural, environmental, industrial, community and agricultural change that will help safeguard the province’s water resources. Released by Environment Minister Barry Penner in June 2008, the plan commits to new actions and builds on existing efforts to protect and keep B.C.’s water healthy and secure. “Living Water Smart: British Columbia’s Water Plan lays out the vision and the steps needed to protect our rivers, lakes, streams and watersheds. This plan will make B.C. a leader in water stewardship,” said Minister Penner.
Intensity Units: An Effective Approach to Regulate Greenhouse Gas Emissions?
“The debate about Climate Change has generated a policy war between proponents of “hard caps” versus those who favour “intensity unit” approaches to regulating discharges of greenhouse gases. The author argues that intensity units are an effective tool for measuring performance in reducing pollution and ensuring that the public interest is protected,” wrote Peter Krahn.
Program on Water Governance Workshop Series: Sustainable Water Infrastructure Management in Canada
“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 climate change, an article by Michael Blackstock,” stated Kim Stephens.
Controlled Subject Index provides indexed access to Water-Centric Planning web-based resources
The Controlled Subject Index provides users with convenient, indexed access to stories and resources that are contained in the Water-Centric Planning Online Library. When a resource is added to the library, it is categorized against an index that comprises five ways of classifying the resource.
Preparing for Climate Change in the Fraser Basin: How Can our Water Management Systems Adapt?
Fraser Basin Council – Bacgrounder cover (300p)
October 2007
On November 6, 2007 the Fraser Basin Council hosted a workshop in Vancouver on adaptive decision-making, water management and climate change. The workshop was held in order to guide future Fraser Basin Council programs related to climate change and adaptation.
Dealing with Uncertainty and Managing Risk: How we can adapt Water Management Systems
“Climate change is not the driver; rather, it is a variable. The key is to focus on what you want to do. Because many factors are in play, the objective is to build in resiliency to address risk,” stated Kim Stephens