In early November, the POLIS Water Sustainability Project co-hosted the third annual joint B.C. Water Leaders-Funders workshop in partnership with the B.C. Water Funders Collaborative.
Thirty-five water leaders and funders from across British Columbia came together in Victoria, B.C. for updates on a range B.C. freshwater policy priorities and to determine how to best strengthen the funder-leader interface.
Minister Doug Donaldson (Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development) provided remarks an evening reception at the Robert Bateman Centre.
This was followed by a separate day of water leaders meetings, hosted by POLIS, including presentations from B.C. government staff on implementation of the Water Sustainability Act and discussions on how to drive progress on strategic priorities.
Out of these two days of meetings, the group of B.C. water leaders developed the position paper B.C. Water Leaders’ Statement of Essential Elements for Freshwater Protection. It identifies priorities to advance freshwater protection in British Columbia in 2019 and beyond and was presented to provincial government leaders and staff, including key ministers, across all of B.C.’s elected parties in December 2018.
The position paper is supported by The Adaptation to Climate Change Team (Simon Fraser University), BC Wildlife Federation, Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives BC Office, Canadian Freshwater Alliance, Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, Environmental Law Centre (University of Victoria), First Nations Fisheries Council, Living Lakes Canada, Organizing for Change, POLIS Water Sustainability Project, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and WWF-Canada.
