Summary Explanation of:
Water For Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability
Introduction
The Government of Alberta is facing significant pressures on its water resources. This has caused the government to make some major shifts in its approach to managing this renewable, but finite resource. Water for Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability is the Government of Alberta's response to develop a new water management approach and outline specific strategies and actions to address these issues.
An extensive provincial consultation process on water management was held between November 2001 and June 2002 and consisted of three major components - ideas generation, public consultation and a Minister's forum on water. The first phase began with a small diverse group of Albertans presenting the government with the challenges associated with managing water in Alberta and opportunities for improving it. Those ideas provided the framework for the public consultation process where key stakeholders and Albertans responded to the initial ideas and offered their own advice, opinions and ideas. The third stage was a Minister's forum on water held in Red Deer in June 2002 which involved 108 invited Albertans and experts. Government then reviewed the input from this process and discussed next steps and solutions. A clear set of proposals and principles emerged from this process and based upon those principles and proposals, the Government of Alberta released its draft Water for Life report in March 2003. Following the release of the draft strategy, Albertans provided comments through workshops and discussions as well as consultation with the Minister's water forum to help shape the final strategy.
Goals and Outcomes for Alberta's Water Strategy
Throughout the foregoing consultation process and the development of Water for Life, three goals of a provincial water strategy were established:
- safe, secure drinking water supply
- healthy aquatic ecosystems
- reliable quality water supplies for a sustainable economy
This summary will focus on only one of these three goals of the provincial strategy; being the goal of achieving healthy aquatic ecosystems.
Because the people who are immediately affected by specific water issues can also more directly and effectively find solutions to address them, the focus of Water for Life is to adopt a watershed approach to management. While the Government of Alberta, lead by Alberta Environment, will remain accountable and will continue to oversee water and watershed management activities in the province, Water for Life identifies three types of partnerships that are integral to achieving stewardship of our water resources:
- Provincial Water Advisory Council
- Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils
- Watershed Stewardship Groups
Provincial Water Advisory Council - This council was established to oversee the overall implementation of Water for Life and will also provide policy advice to government. The Provincial Water Advisory Council will provide an overall, broad perspective and help to ensure outcomes are achieved across the province.
Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils - A number of watershed planning and advisory councils will be established to involve communities and stakeholders in watershed management. While these multi-stakeholder councils will not have a direct reporting relationship to the Provincial Water Advisory Council, they will benefit from the Provincial Council’s guidance and mentoring.
Watershed Stewardship Groups - These are the grass-roots organizations that will undertake the "on-the-ground" activities to protect and enhance local lakes and streams. Over 40 community-based watershed stewardship groups have formed across the province. The Skeleton Lake Stewardship Association is one such stewardship group. These groups are made up of volunteer citizens, often supported by local businesses and industries, who have taken the initiative to protect their local creek, stream, stretch of river or lake. These groups have been proactive and continue to develop solutions to ensure the protection of their specific watersheds. Therefore, these groups will play a vital role in water management in the province of Alberta.
Enabling Partnerships in Support of Water for Life: Alberta’s Strategy for Sustainability
Water for Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability identifies the need to engage all Albertans in managing our watersheds. The Government of Alberta will join with municipal governments, stakeholders and the public to collaborate in three types of partnerships to meet this need. Watershed stewardship groups, watershed planning and advisory councils and the Alberta Water Council will share responsibility for identifying solutions to watershed issues in Alberta. Water for Life embraces a philosophy of shared responsibility. Sharing responsibility can provide important benefits to environmental management including encouraging greater responsibility of those who have an impact on the environment and empowering them to take action. The government encourages a partnership approach consisting of a voluntary organization of provincial, watershed, community and/or individual stakeholders who agree to undertake common or complimentary activities, enter into agreements, and work together for the orderly, efficient and accountable achievement of results. While these partnerships will not have regulatory authority, they can make recommendations to those bodies that do, to improve watershed management.
Working in their communities, Watershed stewardship groups are already raising awareness and undertaking on-the-ground activities to protect and enhance local lakes and streams. Groups such as the Skeleton Lake Stewardship Association are promoting knowledge and best management practices for landowners and lake users who in turn, it is hoped, will make changes to the way they operate. These changes are making improvements to water quality, fish habitat, riparian zones and wetlands within their local watersheds.
Roles of Watershed Stewardship Groups
Watershed stewardship groups will gather and share information and take action to improve and protect their local watershed. Diverse in their membership and their activities, these groups may:
- work with individual landholders and local communities and governments to raise awareness and gather information on water quality, quantity, usage and surface-groundwater interactions in their local watershed;
- identify goals and priorities for further actions;
- provide local knowledge and advice to municipal governments, stakeholders, conservation groups and the public;
- solicit advice, technical information and support from governments, conservation organizations and other agencies;
- carry out stewardship activities;
- encourage and promote the use of best management practices.
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