Whereas watershed security is recognized as central to the health and well-being of British Columbians with over 80 percent asserting that ongoing access to abundant clean fresh water in their regions is essential to health, food security, salmon, fire safety, jobs, economic well-being, and overall quality of life, both today, and in the years to come; And whereas the Province of BC has committed to lead work to protect clean water through the creation of a Watershed Security Strategy and Watershed Security Fund; And whereas the Watershed Security Fund is an essential mechanism for implementing the Watershed Security Strategy and to: - support local Watershed Boards and regional partnership initiatives; - create good, sustainable local jobs in restoration, monitoring, technology and community planning; - support education and training in the watershed sector; - build a connection between communities and their watersheds; - support local tourism and recreation; - provide sustainable, long-term funding for Indigenous capacity and community resilience, and advance DRIPA through co-governance partnerships with First Nations. Therefore be it resolved that UBCM requests that the Province of BC create a dedicated, sustainable, annual funding source for the Watershed Security Fund that provides 75 million annually for community-driven watershed security initiatives.
Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy Protecting clean water is a priority for the Government of British Columbia. Developing a Watershed Security Strategy Strategy and a related Watershed Security Fund Fund is a mandate letter commitment for the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy with support from the Minister of State for Lands and Natural Resource Operations and the Parliamentary Secretary for Fisheries and Aquaculture. The Strategy and related Fund will need to build on, align with, and complement the current work across government to help ensure BCs watersheds are healthy. The Strategy and Fund must also reflect the Provinces commitment to true, lasting reconciliation and be consistent with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Government is working with Indigenous partners to jointly build an enduring engagement and collaboration process needed to ensure our success. Government has developed a discussion paper for public engagement that outlines the key themes of a Strategy, including water governance, reconciliation, climate change, ecosystems, drinking water, land use planning, community and economic stability, and education and knowledge. The discussion paper was made available to the public on January 25, 2022, on the EngageBC site www.gov.bc.cawater. We look forward to having discussions with local governments and external stakeholders as part of development of the Strategy.