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Joan Sawicki

    AGRICULTURAL WATER RESERVE FOR BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Without a protected water supply for agriculture, we risk losing local farms and, in turn, our ability to produce healthy, affordable and locally grown food,” wrote Jeremy Dunn, Kevin Boon and Danielle Synotte in their call for action


    “Local producers need sufficient access to water to grow crops, feed livestock and maintain healthy soil. In times of drought or water scarcity, a lack of water directly threatens food production and jeopardizes the livelihoods of farmers. Provincial food security hinges on predictable water availability. The impacts of climate change have disrupted this balance, casting doubt on the future of agriculture. Protecting water access for agricultural purposes is essential to maintaining food security for current and future generations,” wrote Kevin Boon and his co-authors.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “The task at hand is about how to redefine things in a new political environment so you would be able to get a new vision and new political commitment,” stated Ray Fung, stated Ray Fung, a retired Director of Engineering in local government, and former Chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership


    “With the housing issue dominating the conversation, how will you reframe the goal and objective for restoration of stream systems in a way that restores political commitment and rebuilds the coalition? What combination of public self-interest and political lever will it take to effect change? What would leveraging political commitment and self-interest look like for rainwater management and riparian forest integrity in today’s context? What combination will it take to effect change? Learn from past experience. There is no time to reinvent the wheel,” stated Ray Fung.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “It became clear that if one did not have a way of building confidence amongst practitioners, the rate of innovation would be slow,” stated Dale Wall, former Deputy Minister of Municipal Affairs


    “We were looking in a new way at infrastructure innovation. We needed quite a lot of innovation to achieve some of the things that we hoped to achieve through regional growth strategies. The convening for action process that built confidence among practitioners to introduce new approaches. We realized that we simply had to have practitioners having discussions so that they would become more comfortable with innovative approaches. A peer learning network was one of the strands to introduce infrastructure innovation and build more sustainable regions,” stated Dale Wall.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Being an effective champion requires deep knowledge, experience and quiet resolve to make things happen,” stated Joan Sawicki, land and resource management champion, and former provincial cabinet minister


    “With the change of government in late 1991, all of a sudden land use planning and natural resource management was front and centre. We had Mike Harcourt as Premier and Darlene Marzari as Minister of Municipal Affairs. Both had come out of local government. They were very familiar with the urgent growth pressures and the ecological impacts that they were having. Then I was appointed Marzari’s Parliamentary Secretary. I had spent a term as an elected Councillor in Burnaby. So the Georgia Basin Initiative was a good fit for me,” stated Joan Sawicki.

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    BC’s PATH TO FOOD SECURITY IS THRU WATER SECURITY: “When we think of all the changes in thinking that we have gone through in the last 50 years, the Land Commission Act really is a testament to the incredible foresight demonstrated in 1973,” stated Joan Sawicki, former MLA


    “At a time when most other jurisdictions continue to lose their food lands, BC’s ALR remains the most successful agricultural land preservation program in North America. With food security now becoming a top-of-mind public issue, thanks to the foresight demonstrated in 1973 we still have “the land” – and I submit we would not still have the option for viable agricultural sectors in high growth areas like the Lower Mainland or the Okanagan without the ALR. The ALR has been doing exactly what it was designed to do,” stated Joan Sawicki.

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    LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “We would have to increase irrigated land area by 50% to attain food security in British Columbia. The Fraser Valley alone could provide 2/3 of the area needed!” stated Ted van der Gulik, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC


    “The 50th anniversary of the ALR is an opportunity for reflection followed by action. The ALR saved the land. Without it, there would be no prospect for food security. Will today’s decision makers rise to the moment and secure the water supply necessary to irrigate the land needed for food security? The Agriculture Water Demand Model is a foundation piece for food security. The model utilizes detailed land use inventories and incorporates a 500 m gridded climate data set – the only one in North America. The model quantifies what we have versus what we need with respect to land and water,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

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    SHORT-TERM GRATIFICATION VS INTER-GENERATIONAL LEGACY: “We know what we need to do to adapt to a changing water cycle. Whether and how we deal with uncertainty, manage risk, and adapt to droughts and floods will depend on how effective we are in encouraging a spirit of inter-generational collaboration among decision-makers at all levels within government and with community,” wrote Kim Stephens (Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability) in an Op-Ed published in April 2021


    “British Columbia’s communities have arrived at an ‘inter-generational moment’ in history. For quite some time we have known that climate mitigation is about carbon and climate adaptation is about water. Now what will we do? Sure, the climate is changing at an accelerating rate and we are experiencing an increased frequency of extreme events – drought, fire, wind, flood. However, the situation is by no means hopeless,” stated Kim Stephens. “Through experience, we do know that when we get the water part right, other parts of the puzzle will fall into place.”

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