We are two weeks away from our world water day panel discussion and everything is coming together nicely. This year’s discussion is being held at the Bohemian Cafe (524 Bernard Av.) on Tuesday, March 22nd. Agenda below.

The panel discussion topic is: Water in an urbanized world: Water, food, land and people in the Okanagan.

The panel members include:

· Oliver Brandes, Polis Institute

· John Janmaat, UBC Okanagan

· Toby Pike, SEKID

· Domenic Rampone, local farmer

· John Wagner, UBC Okanagan

· Anna Warwick Sears, OBWB

Agenda

5:00 introductions and welcomes

5:15 introductory ideas from panel members (3 minutes max)

5:35 facilitated discussion with roundtable participants

6:00 public questions & answers

6:25 wrap-up / thank you / networking

Each panel member will provide introductory comments. Panel members will then have an opportunity to comment and ask questions of other panel members. After the panel members have an opportunity to explore their ideas, we’ll take questions from the floor. If the crowd is small enough the facilitated table discussion and public q&a session can be combined.

I’m looking forward to a good evening of discussion around a range of ideas about Okanagan water in an urban(izing) world.

Cheers,

Nelson R. Jatel,
Okanagan Basin Waterboard
Water Stewardship Director

Water and not oil will be the resource that defines prosperity in the 21^st Century.  BC’s Water Act is over 100 years old and well out of date, no longer able to deal with existing and emerging water issues in the Province.  Recognition is rapidly emerging that water is where the impacts of climate change will be felt, with longer drier summers, diminished watershed health and function, and reduced storage in snow pack, glaciers and aquifers. Conflict, drought and water scarcity loom, even for a relatively water wealthy place like BC.

To ensure a prosperous future the BC government has committed to modernize its Water Act and to build capacity for water conservation, stewardship and security by investing in effective governance, institutions and models for management. The implications for the rest of the country are significant as this modern Water Act could be a national leader that shows the path forward to a more sustainable approach to water management and governance.

In the face of reduced government finances and resources, and increasing demands for better collaboration by First Nations and stakeholders like local government, stewardship groups, business and industry, provides a perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to update the current regime.

This presentation will explore three specific options and opportunities for water and governance reform in the province. It will build on research and leading models from around the world and the detailed policy paper released by the POLIS WSP – Setting a New Course by Brandes and Curran.  The presentation will reveal key strengths and weaknesses associated with each proposed model and offer some conclusions about how a more sustainable water future for BC is possible. It emphasizes that clear goals and strong regulatory standards particularly in the areas of watershed and public health, as well as local expertise and involvement in decision making will all contribute to better governance. The work extends the understanding of water watershed governance and recognizes that modernizing our approach to water management and governance is the urgent challenge if we are going to ensure community and regional prosperity.

To ensure a current and focused discussion this review will address Government’s ongoing Water Act modernization process and will emphasize the need to build institutional and ecosystem resilience for a more prosperous water future.

Hello everyone!

I am very excited to announce that World Water Week  planning at UBC Okanagan is well under way for 2011. This year’s theme is “Water for Cities: Responding to the Urban Challenge”. So far,  we are just in the early stages of developing our schedule of events but it looks like this year will be one to remember.

This year World Water Week will be overseen by  Leanne Bilodeau Director, Sustainability Operations and myself Allisha Luther your student coordinator. Leanne, myself and John Wagner (our Steering Committee Chair) are looking forward to the various events that are planned for this year.

As our keynote speaker this year, we are very honored to have Oliver Brandes.  Oliver is a political ecologist who has been involved in various environmental and development projects in Costa Rica and Ecuador, including a tropical reforestation initiative, water treatment facility construction and a sea-turtle restoration project. He also worked in Canada’s North for the territorial judges at the Nunavut Court of Justice. Additionally we will have a variety of events from the student body and community member throughout the week.

Please stay tuned for further updates!