Presentation Abstract

Water is the lifeblood of communities. We depend on it, we value it, and with growing awareness of the potential impacts of population growth, climate change and other pressures within our water resources and watersheds, we must work together to effectively manage and steward our water resources into the future. To address the complexities inherent to watershed and water resource planning at the local scale, the Fraser Basin Council has developed a comprehensive watershed-planning guide to assist organizations and individuals to:• Understand the value of water and watershed planning• Navigate the diversity of current and emerging water issues• Understand the range of planning options available in British Columbia; and,• Build capacity to develop and implement plans to strengthen watershed health and community sustainability. Bringing the right people together to discuss the wide ranging issues within a watershed is no easy task, but when done well, it can be an efficient, credible, and cost effective way to develop integrated and robust solutions that are relevant to, and supported by, the community. Key principles for collaborative multi-stakeholder processes include:• shared purpose and clearly defined incentives to participate;• commitment to the collaborative process;• collectively designed and determined process that suits the needs of the participants; • establish realistic milestones and deadlines to track progress throughout the process; • effective process coordination, oversight and management, including a trusted and credible facilitator.The Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP) is a multi-agency planning process focused on improving the health and prosperity of the lakes in the Shuswap watershed in BC’s central interior region. SLIPP provides on on-the-ground example of collaboration for watershed planning and ultimately, improved watershed health. The structure, approach and outcomes from SLIPP are unique in BC and the key lessons are relevant across a wide spectrum of communities, regions and initiatives.

Session Title

Session S-08G: Rethinking Our Waterways: Effective Collaboration with Landowners, Project Partners and Decision Makers

Conference Track

Shorelines

Conference Name

Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)

Document Type

Event

Start Date

2-5-2014 8:30 AM

End Date

2-5-2014 10:00 AM

Location

Room 6E

Genre/Form

conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)

Contributing Repository

Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Subjects – Topical (LCSH)

Watershed management--Political aspects--British Columbia; Natural resources--Co-management--British Columbia

Geographic Coverage

Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); British Columbia

Rights

This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

Share

COinS
 
May 2nd, 8:30 AM May 2nd, 10:00 AM

Rethinking Our Waterways - best practices for collaborative approaches to watershed planning

Room 6E

Water is the lifeblood of communities. We depend on it, we value it, and with growing awareness of the potential impacts of population growth, climate change and other pressures within our water resources and watersheds, we must work together to effectively manage and steward our water resources into the future. To address the complexities inherent to watershed and water resource planning at the local scale, the Fraser Basin Council has developed a comprehensive watershed-planning guide to assist organizations and individuals to:• Understand the value of water and watershed planning• Navigate the diversity of current and emerging water issues• Understand the range of planning options available in British Columbia; and,• Build capacity to develop and implement plans to strengthen watershed health and community sustainability. Bringing the right people together to discuss the wide ranging issues within a watershed is no easy task, but when done well, it can be an efficient, credible, and cost effective way to develop integrated and robust solutions that are relevant to, and supported by, the community. Key principles for collaborative multi-stakeholder processes include:• shared purpose and clearly defined incentives to participate;• commitment to the collaborative process;• collectively designed and determined process that suits the needs of the participants; • establish realistic milestones and deadlines to track progress throughout the process; • effective process coordination, oversight and management, including a trusted and credible facilitator.The Shuswap Lake Integrated Planning Process (SLIPP) is a multi-agency planning process focused on improving the health and prosperity of the lakes in the Shuswap watershed in BC’s central interior region. SLIPP provides on on-the-ground example of collaboration for watershed planning and ultimately, improved watershed health. The structure, approach and outcomes from SLIPP are unique in BC and the key lessons are relevant across a wide spectrum of communities, regions and initiatives.