5th Announcement: Peer-Based Learning Will Help Local Governments Implement ‘Watershed Blueprints’ in BC

“ISMP Course Correction” is founded on the experience of local government leaders

An inter-governmental team is teaching the first 2-day course on HOW to develop a Watershed Blueprint. The course is designed to help Metro Vancouver municipalities fulfil senior government regulatory requirements pursuant to the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan. The team is led by representatives of the City of Surrey, Capital Regional District, and North Vancouver District.

“Everyone in local government is challenged to do more with less and get it done. Our hope is that those taking this course will experience numerous ‘Ah-Ha moments’. We will lead them through a Seven-Step Process. We will provide them with the tools to be effective in implementing the ISMP Course Correction,” states the District of North Vancouver’s Richard Boase. He is Co-Chair of the Water Balance Model Partnership.

“The course curriculum is founded on our collective experience in local government. This experience crosses jurisdictional boundaries; and is grounded in reality. We have developed a framework and a set of principles for integrated and balanced action to achieve this shared goal: improve the health of our urban watersheds.”

“A guiding principle is that every watershed is unique. Yet what is common to all Watershed Blueprints is this guiding philosophy: Everyone needs to agree on the end goal, and how all the players will work together. After that, each municipality can reach its goal in its own way.”

Alignment with Ecological Health Plan: Metro Vancouver's ongoing commitment to a sustainable future for the region and its residents is embodied in the board-established Sustainability Framework. The framework articulates the values, principles and core areas of focus that guide decision making within the region's three key roles:

• Political forum
• Policy maker
• Service provider

With the majority of the region's management plans complete, the emphasis in 2011 has shifted from plan development to implementation. A strategic priority in the 2011 Action Plan is Ecological Health.

"The region has committed to protect and restore an interconnected network of habitat and green space, account for ecosystem services, and enhance the connection between people and nature," reports Richard Boase.

TO REGISTER: Click on http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/ISMPCourseCorrection.asp

TO LEARN MORE: To access the ISMP Course Correction 'homepage' on the Water Bucket website and learn more about the program design, click here. 

News Release #2011-49

October 11, 2011