Watershed Planning

The 1990s represent an era of significant change for water and land use in the Pacific Region. The British Columbia government’s land use strategy brought many provincial residents to multi-stakeholder planning processes. These processes represent an effort to reconcile diverse needs and uses for water and to try to find ways to manage water resources in a manner that will ensure that the wide range of values and interests are met. These efforts are ongoing — some land use plans have been approved and are in various phases of implementation; numerous land and resource management plans are under discussion; and, some regions of the province are just beginning land use planning processes.  See the Guide Page on Strategic Land Use Planning for more information about these provincial efforts.

Despite these efforts, there is currently no new legislation relating to integrated planning.  Water and land use planning is governed by a many laws, regulations, guidebooks, policies and directives, making it impossible to provide an exhaustive guide in a single, usable volume. This Guide, however, provides you with basic information about Federal, Provincial, Urban (Local Government), and Outside of Government planning processes in BC.  Through the sources cited for further reference, you will be able to find more detailed information where required.

Watershed Management

Water is one of our most valuable resources to humans. Every living organism requires water in some form. As such, water regulates population growth, influences health and living conditions, and determines biodiversity.  The presence or absence of water is critical to determining the uses to which land can be put.

A “watershed” refers to an area that drains into the same body of water.     Watersheds capture precipitation, filter and store water, and determine its release. It is an integrated system, with actions in one part of a watershed often impacting the whole watershed; as such, it is the most appropriate unit for water management and related ecological values. 

Watershed management seeks to ensure the wise and effective use of water resources, and in particular the quantity and quality of water released.   Over the years watershed advocates have developed and advocated for watershed management based upon “sustainable watershed management principles” and the underlying concept of “integrated watershed management.”  Sustainable watershed management principles include:

·          Integrated resource management by linking water quality and quantity and the management of other resources, recognizing hydrological, ecological, social and institutional systems, and recognizing the importance of watershed and aquifer boundaries.

·          Water conservation and the protection of water quality by recognizing the value and limits of water resources, the cost of providing water, acknowledging both consumptive and non-consumptive values, and balancing education, market forces and regulatory systems.

·          Resolve water management issues by multi-stakeholder collaborative planning, monitoring, researching, consulting, negotiating for consensus, and ensuring accountability through open communication, education and public access to information.

What is Watershed Planning?

Planning means many different things to different people.  Very generally, planning attempts to apply reason to solve a specific problem and identify steps that can be taken to reach a specific goal. 

As individuals, we make plans all the time.  However, when dealing with complicated social, environmental or economic problems, the steps that will be followed in developing a plan are often more formal, and will usually include some or all of the following activities:

·          Involve key decision makers and partners – Who should be on-side to make the plan work? 

·          Identify or define the problem to be solved by the plan – If a problem is defined too narrowly, you may overlook innovative solutions.

·          Model or analyze the situation/problem – It is important to understand the causes of the problem, as well as dynamics which might help solve it.

·          Determine potential solutions, examining resource requirements, implementation, feedback procedures, etc.

·          Evaluate potential solutions in terms of technical feasibility, cost effectiveness, probable effects, political acceptability, etc.

·          Make a decision.

·          Implement the decision.

·          Evaluate the success of the plan and its implementation.  Modify the plan as required.

A planning process allows people to decide how, as a group, to move from an unacceptable present to a desirable future.  Planning, however, is not an end product. It is an on-going, dynamic process that must be responsive and adaptive to changing conditions, and the current social attitude or community vision.

Watershed Planning, then, is planning for the good management of watersheds.  It provides a means by which decisions are coordinated among responsible government and private agencies and by which land use and resource management conflicts and issues are resolved.  As such, watershed planning is a combination of scientific and technical information with cultural and societal values.  It requires detailed information about the particular watershed components and processes and other information. 

Yet, there is no exact definition of a “watershed approach” to planning, rather it is a social construct agreed to by people living in that watershed.  Each example of watershed planning will look quite different, and it is crucial that watershed advocates be involved to push for sustainable watershed management. 

See the Guide Page on What is good planning? for more tips on planning.  Although not directly related to watershed planning, the Guide page on Developing an Advocacy Strategy deals with developing plans internal to an organization, and may also provide insight on different approaches to planning.

How does watershed planning occur?

Historically, the provincial government has coordinated watershed planning in B.C..  See the Guide page on Strategic Land Use Planning for more information.  Different types of planning involve different levels of detail and different levels of public involvement in the planning. 

Increasingly, however, planning is being initiated by other interests.  Several First Nations have initiated their own watershed management plans, as have environmental groups.  Similarly, several industrial forest companies have initiated their own planning process outside of government processes in order to have operations certified by an independent party, to avoid pressure from environmentally-conscious consumers or maintain good relations with the local community. 

An important question to ask in each of these cases is who will have the responsibility for implementing the plan and what guarantees are there that it will be implemented.  Ask questions and ensure that you get whatever guarantees are possible if you will be participating in a planning process.  See the guide pages on individual planning and legal requirements for more information. 

Related Guide Pages:

·          Information for Good Planning

·          Successful Planning

·          Multi-stakeholder Planning 

·          Strategic Land Use Planning

·          Planning Processes

For more information about Watershed Planning:

·          Sustainability Tools and Resources website – a web-based planning tool

·          Golden, B, and J. Rogers. 2000. Moving the Watershed Planning Process from Quagmire to Success.

·          Friedman, J. 1987. Planning in the Public Domain: From Knowledge to Action. Princeton University Press. New Jersey.

·          Heathcote, I. 1998. Integrated Watershed Management: Principles and Practices. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., ISBN 0-471-18338-5.