Water Stewardship Information Sources
| Citation | Wilkes, B, Collier, J and Brandes, OM. 2013. Inventory and research survey summary: Needs and prioritites of watershed-based groups in British Columbia. POLIS Project on Ecological Governance. |
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| Organization | POLIS Project |
| URL | http://poliswaterproject.org/sites/default/files/WatershedSurveyReport_FINAL_Mar2013.pdf |
| Abstract/Description or Keywords | In British Columbia, discussions about water have historically focused on issues of management. But, underlying water management is governance: how decisions about water are made and how the people making those decisions are held accountable for them (Brandes & Curran, 2009). Good governance is critical to addressing issues of sustainability and building resilience for better water management and increased institutional efficiency. Currently, the provincial government is in the process of reforming B.C.’s Water Act, and has indicated an explicit priority to “improve governance” (Ministry of Environment, 2010). The government is considering a range of potential models to drive this change towards a modern Water Act, including improving watershed-scale decision-making processes to enhance the implementation of a new approach to water management. A shift to watershed-based governance is apparent internationally, which offers evidence that this type of re-scaled approach to decision-making is becoming increasingly common (Brandes & O’Riordan, 2013). In B.C., early evidence of this approach indicates that is also emerging as a priority; across the province numerous grassroots and more formal organizations are already operating at the watershed scale. A growing body of research emphasizes the importance of a watershed-based approach (see, for example, Baltutis et al., 2012; Brandes & Curran, 2009; Brandes et al., 2005; Nowlan & Bakker, 2007). This survey project builds on this existing research. It seeks to inventory and identify many of those groups that are currently working at a watershed scale within British Columbia, and it begins to determine the role these groups can play in more formalized decision-making going forward. In November 2008, the Collaborative Watershed Governance Initiative (CWGI)—a partnership initiative supported by the Living Rivers Trust—hosted an intensive workshop for groups and individuals concerned with watershed governance in British Columbia. One of the primary recommendations that resulted from this event was to further study watershed governance approaches in the province and provide opportunities to build capacity for watershed-based groups and boards interested in more formally participating in water decision-making (CWGI, 2008). In addition, the importance of gathering more information about B.C.’s watershed groups, their capacity, and their needs was an explicit theme at the January 2012 event “A Water Gathering: Collaborative Watershed Governance in BC and Beyond—Solutions Forum,” which was co-hosted by the British Columbia Ministry of Environment, Fraser Basin Council, Living Lakes Canada, Okanagan Basin Water Board, POLIS Project on Ecological Governance, the Summit Institute, Water Policy and Governance Group, and Wildsight. (PBLI, 2012; see Appendix D for full Water Gathering Conference Release). Gathering this type of information requires compiling an initial inventory of watershed groups across the province, including information about the organizations’ principal activities and needs. This survey project was conducted to start that process. Another purpose of this project was to gauge the interest of these groups in engaging with similar organizations in other watersheds, and in learning from leading examples from across B.C. and from other jurisdictions about best management practices and new forms of, and opportunities for, governance. The feedback from those groups that responded to the survey are summarized in this briefing note and in the table in Appendix A. Appendix B shows a map of British Columbia, indicating the geographical distribution of surveyed groups across the province. A complete list of the survey questions used is provided in Appendix C. The official conference release from the January 2012 event “A Water Gathering: Collaborative Watershed Governance in BC and Beyond,” which outlines priority actions for watershed governance in B.C., is provided in Appendix D. This inventory and survey project was carried out by Brian Wilkes and Associates Ltd. with the support of the POLIS Project on Ecological Governance at the University of Victoria. |
| Information Type | report |
| Regional Watershed | Province |
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| Project status | complete |
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