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FEATURED RESOURCE
CASE STUDY: Nk’eʔxép Management Committee
Local communities want and need new solutions to manage and safeguard fresh water. In the Nicola watershed, the Nk’eʔxép (Drought) Management Committee is setting a new path forward on drought, boldly shifting away from the status-quo provincial drought response toward an approach based on shared decision-making informed by Indigenous and Western knowledge and science.
This case study showcases this new, joint approach and distills key learnings from the committee’s work to date. It celebrates successful collaboration among local partners, demonstrates the tangible impacts and benefits they have achieved for drought response and watershed health, and offers a valuable resource and lessons for other regions as they explore ways to improve drought management in their own watersheds.
It was co-published by the Nicola Watershed Governance Partnership and the University of Victoria’s POLIS Water Sustainability Project, with support from BC Water Legacy.
Working for watersheds Roadmap
The Watershed Sector Roadmap is a blueprint that lays out a strategic vision for how we grow and develop BC’s watershed sector over the next 5-10 years. It reveals how working together to advance shared priorities will ensure that BC’s watershed sector is sustaining healthy, resilient watersheds and supporting prosperous economies for generations to come.
The Roadmap is the product of collaboration with input from industry, government, First Nations, and non-profit organizations. The Roadmap was informed by the 2023 Water Innovation Dialogue Series, delivered by GLOBE Series, which brought together a broad spectrum of interested parties to identify near-term innovation and economic development opportunities in BC and beyond.
Forest Ministry staff and the BCWF Wetlands Education Program field training for Forest and Range Evaluation Program, Fort St James, B.C. June 2018. Pg. iv. Photo by BCWF Wetlands Education Program.
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BC WATERSHED SECURITY FUND:
A Collaborative Vision
This strategic directions paper, produced by the Sustainable Funding Working Group, brings together the insights and best thinking of 16 experts and knowledge holders in Indigenous governance, local government, funding and financing, forestry and land-use practices and watershed management. The Working Group has presented a bold vision for the Watershed Security Fund along with 10 strategic directions that would help make that vision a reality.
WORKING FOR WATERSHEDS
REPORT
The watershed sector encompasses activities that directly support the maintenance, restoration, or improvement of healthy watersheds. In 2019, the watershed sector is estimated to have directly employed 27,200 people and more broadly supported jobs for 47,900 British Columbians in five sub-sectors. This level of employment compares favourably with other sectors, including agriculture, mining, and oil and gas. In 2019, the watershed sector contributed an estimated $5 billion to the province’s GDP.
A $100 million/year Watershed Security Fund investment over 10 years will create an estimated 13,000 more jobs and contribute $1.3 billion more to provincial GDP by 2030 than under a business-as-usual scenario.
Forest Ministry staff and the BCWF Wetlands Education Program field training for Forest and Range Evaluation Program, Fort St James, B.C. June 2018. Pg. iv. Photo by BCWF Wetlands Education Program.