Tuesday, November 8, 2011
2 – 5 pm
Segal Centre (Room 1400), SFU Vancouver, 515 West Hastings Street, Vancouver BC
Entrance is free of charge; please register online
Coffee will be served
Join us for a thought provoking discussion on water management lessons drawn from leading Canadian and international examples

Water is integral to our daily lives but we rarely consider whether it is being managed adequately. Canadians tend to believe we have a limitless water supply, but human activity, climate change and industrial development are threatening water resources across the country, even in its most remote corners.

Some governments have recognized the need to address these threats to our water supply, in particular the Government of Northwest Territories through its innovative water management strategy: Northern Voices, Northern Waters. However, in this time of decreasing government budgets, we need to emphasize the importance of cross-jurisdictional collaboration. Citizens must also collectively play a greater role in understanding water management issues and shaping the future direction of water resources management.

Learn about these issues and more at a special panel presentation with some of Canada’s top water experts:

Presenter: Bob Sandford, EPCOR Chair of the Canadian Partnership Initiative in support of United Nations “Water for Life” Decade; author of ACT’s Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance report

Panelists: Oliver Brandes, Co-Director of the University of Victoria’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance

Jon O’Riordan, former BC DM of Sustainable Resource Management; Senior Advisor, ACT (Adaptation to Climate Change Team), Simon Fraser University; Principal, Fidelis Consulting

Moderated by: Deborah Harford, Executive Director, ACT (Adaptation to Climate Change Team), Simon Fraser University

At this presentation, you will learn:

  • Why we need to improve water management to secure our social and economic future
  • How climate and governance related factors are affecting Canada’s water resources
  • How leading edge jurisdictions such as the Northwest Territories are finding innovative ways to protect water
  • What people in the south can learn from water management experiences in the north
  • What this means for protecting water in your own community

This special presentation is part of a cross-country tour. To see other dates and locations or for more information, please see FLOW Cross-country tour dates.

Thank you to tour partners:

FLOW (Forum for Leadership on Water)
RBC Blue Water Foundation
Simon Fraser University’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team (ACT)
University of Victoria’s POLIS Project on Ecological Governance
Walter and Duncan Gordon Foundation
Rocky Mountain Books
Water Canada Magazine
The Walrus