WC128 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 28
LEGAL
In developing the Strategy, the Province has shown that
it will work with Indigenous peoples, the public, different
levels of government, and stakeholders, and is seeking input
from environmental organizations, industrial water users, and
opinion leaders.5 The Strategy implies an intensive effort will
be undertaken to “align with other water use priorities like fish
protection, land-use planning and protection of drinking water,”6
while “honouring the spirit, intent, and obligations” of the B.C.
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act and the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples that
will be “central” to the Strategy.7
Goals of the Watershed Security Strategy and Fund
The Province proposes to focus on achieving the following 10
outcomes:
Governance support Improving watershed governance by developing a framework that harmonizes the roles and responsibilities
for all involved with a watershed.8
Risk management Developing better understanding of the risks
to watershed security by increasing regulatory frameworks to
improve and control water “use monitoring to inform adaptive
management approaches... designed to avoid or mitigate risks,”
and ensuring that those involved with watershed governance
can access the “necessary data, software tools and professional
expertise needed to characterize the status and risks to water in
watersheds.”9
Reconciliation and collaboration Furthering reconciliation with
Indigenous communities by using new ways to collaborate on
provincial water priorities and assess options and solutions for
reducing what the Province describes as “engagement fatigue”
experienced by Indigenous peoples.10
Water for all Ensuring a sustainable and continuous supply of
healthy water for all and taking steps to understand the risks
posed to watersheds and assess how drinking water sources could
be further protected through the better management of natural
assets (ie. wetlands and aquifers), as well as assessing ways to
“improve mapping of water sources” and identifying risks to
“support source protection planning.”11
Water integration Development of policies that result in more
efficient and effective integration of water security and water use
into land use planning, including evaluating how to identify the
values and goals shared between water planning and modernized
land-use planning initiatives early on so that, where these initiatives do overlap, their processes will be aligned.12
Relationship reset Resetting the water supply and demand by
assessing the possible use of new water sources (such as greywater), and the “storage and recovery of storm water runoff for purposes other than drinking.”13
Ecosystems upgrade Improving aquatic ecosystem habitats by
considering and evaluating new methods and opportunities
to better manage natural resources and applying nature-based
solutions, as well as opportunities to balance food security and
economic prosperity with the health of ecosystems by using economic tools.14
Indigenous knowledge Collaborating with Indigenous people
to better understand and integrate Indigenous knowledge and
values in decision-making processes and watershed management,
and recognize opportunities for Indigenous-led projects where
science and Indigenous peoples knowledge can work together.15
Education and outreach Identifying opportunities for providing
education and outreach around water management in B.C. by
collaborating with various levels of governments and Indigenous
and non-Indigenous groups.16
Funding Creating a fund for the Strategy which may be used to
support various watershed governance initiatives aimed at promoting watershed security.17
It remains to be seen how these ten proposed outcomes will
unfold since the Province does not intend on launching the
Strategy until the spring or summer of 2023.18 It also remains
to be seen what impacts the Strategy may have on commercial
and industrial water users. While the risks of climate change on
watersheds is not yet fully understood, the Strategy represents the
beginning of a much larger discussion regarding water use and
sustainability in the Province.
For references visit watercanada.net/resources/jf23
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
The impacts of climate change including increased weather events,
undermine “the health of watersheds, and by extension the wellbeing
of all living things.”
