The South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Program (SOSCP) and community partners (Keremeos, Oliver, Summerland, Regional District Okanagan Similkameen) have worked collaboratively to establish the South Okanagan and Similkameen Local Government Ecological Standards and Practices Capacity Building Initiative. This is a collaboration is supported by the Real Estate Foundation of BC Communities in Transition Program. Phase I is underway. Here are the highlights:
- The SOSCP is a collaboration of organizations including senior governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and local governments that has increased the partnership level and engagement of rural/non-metro communities over the past few years on land use planning and conservation;
- Local governments are a "high priority" partner to work with because they have great influence over land use and conservation;
- SOSCP created a regional environmental planning table that brings together planners and resource people to learn, identify priority issues and needs for support, and a forum from which to advance sustainable land use planning;
- Our research and partnership development clearly pointed to the fact that there wasn't the capacity for communities to move forward on challenges around the use and conservation of land – including implementing and improving ecological standards and practices in their planning and land use decision making processes;
- SOSCP and communities agreed that it was imperative that capacity be addressed to be able to advance sustainable land use practices that protect wildlife, healthy ecosystems and the goods and services they provide human communities.
Collaboration
SOSCP and communities established a collaborative approach to capacity building – they pooled exisiting funding resources and worked together to apply for external funds from Real Estate Foundation of BC CIT program, as well as from other sources such as the federal Habitat Stewardship Program (HSP). This enabled the establishment of a shared environmental planning contractor, that works within the communities to assist them in achieving their environmental planning objectives. In addition, there are other resource people and mentors that work to support that environmental planner. The SOSCP administers the contract and guides the workplan in concert with the communities according to their needs.
The environmental planner's work consists of:
- Creating consistent baseline information across the region to address ecological values. This includes ecosystem mapping, identification of environmentally sensitive areas, and in some cases, recognition of special features and hotspots.
- Providing leading edge information pertinent to land use bylaw provisions (official community plans), development permit areas (derived from ecosystem mapping) or other suitable mechanisms to protect ecosystem values.
- Establishing sources of ecological expertise for local governments engaged with the development community at the neighbourhood or site plan level, thus helping ensure recognition of sensitive ecosystems/ connective corridors in the planning approval process.
Interesting points
- This isn’t an approach widely applied – communities within regions rarely share resources;
- It is a challenging position for the environmental planner – three distinct communities with different needs and issues;
- Environmental planning is a skill set that is rare – it is imperative that there be a community of resource people/projects/examples from which to draw;
- Internal environmental planning expertise is absolutely necessary for communities – it is hoped that they will recognize this need and find a way to resource it in the future – hopefully collaboratively;
- It has increased the trust and strengthened the relationships between the conservation community (gov’t and non-govt) and local governments/development/private industry.
For more information about this project or the South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Partnership, please contact me directly.
Bryn White, ManagerSouth Okanagan Similkameen Conservation Program
102 Industrial Ave.
Penticton, BC V2A 7C8
Tel: (250) 490-8225
Fax: (250) 490-2231
Email: bryn.white (at) gov.bc.ca
Web: www.soscp.org
NOTE:
In 2008 the Governors of the Real Estate Foundation of BC granted $150,000 to The Nature Trust of BC (one of the partners in the SOSCP collaborative) to support the program coordination, research, education, and land use planning functions of the South Okanagan-Similkameen Conservation Program through 2008-2011. For more information on recent grants approved by the Governors of the Real Estate Foundation of BC please click here.
©Real Estate Foundation of BC / 2010. We encourage the reproduction of articles on this website non-profit educational purposes. Please notify the Foundation and the author of all reproductions, including in-house uses.
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