Water Systems: What’s at Stake?

British Columbia’s watersheds are facing ever-increasing pressures with climate change destabilizing freshwater sources, adding droughts, fires and floods to the existing threats of contamination and cumulative impacts on the land. In particular, these impacts are having profound consequences for B.C.’s Indigenous communities.

Over the past two years, Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI) projects have been launched at more than 200 sites around B.C. to restore watersheds and wetlands.

The projects span thousands of sites within the province’s eight major drainage basins, creating spawning grounds for salmon, and building habitat and community resiliency to withstand sea level rise and climate change events.

As global warming accelerates — resulting in record droughts, wildfires, and flooding disasters — actions taken to conserve and renew watersheds are essential. HWI projects demonstrate a strong path forward for investing in nature-based infrastructure, planning and monitoring that builds community resilience and safety at a fraction of the cost of recovery efforts after extreme climate events.

HWI is supporting the more than 60 projects across the province through $27 million in stimulus funding under the B.C. government’s economic recovery plan.

A recent HWI report highlights the success and cost effectiveness of investing in community-led watershed restoration and stewardship work. One of the successes achieved with the projects was the training and creation of jobs for more than 1200 people and spinoff benefits for local contractors, service providers and businesses.

The report also emphasizes the complex, challenging, and important areas of learning that project teams undertook as they advanced the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) through their work.

“We are deeply grateful to all the project teams whose work and insights made it possible for us to see and understand roles, responsibilities, and ac- tions that are critical to UNDRIP commitments, economic recovery, climate action, and community and watershed health,” said Leanne Sexsmith and Zita Botelho, Co-Directors of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative. “We are thankful to our Indigenous Leaders Advisory Circle, the B.C. government and community partners for working with us to guide, implement, and share in this work, which has resulted in incredible learning, impacts, and returns from one of the most significant investments in water security in decades.”

The restoration of riparian and wetland habitats through HWI projects helped protect important species, increase biodiversity, manage peak water flows and summer droughts, and supported habitat and community resiliency. Work included removing physical barriers to migrating salmon, planting vegetation, building infrastructure, and investing in data collection and monitoring. It also included contributions to longer-term watershed and species sustainability plans.

“Maintaining and protecting healthy watersheds and wetlands are among nature’s strongest barriers against climate change - and will help sustain healthy ecosystems and healthy communities for future generations,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “The Healthy Watersheds Initiative helps fund local projects that rehabilitate

Two Project Examples

Quatse (Gwa’dzi) Estuary Restoration

One of the HWI projects focused on restoring coastal processes and improving fish and wildlife habitat in the Gwa’dzi River Estuary. This project was implemented and delivered in partnership with the Kwakiutl First Nation, The Nature Trust of BC along with all levels of government. The project work focused on enhancing fish and wildlife habitat while ensuring the estuary would be resilient to sea-level rise and climate change.

Chilako

River Restoration Demonstration Project

HWI jobs and training contributed to leadership development, advanced career goals, connected people to community and culture, and supported intergenerational engagement and knowledge sharing. Through the HWI, the Upper Fraser Fisheries Conservation Alliance (UFFCA) restored riparian and floodplain ecosystems along the Chilako River and supported 27 jobs. The UFFCA partnered with Lheidli T’enneh and Saik’uz First Nations to complete this work. The project focused on revitalizing spawning habitats, reducing erosion, and minimizing the effects of climate and land use changes threatened watersheds and wetlands, restoring these critical habitats so they are healthier and more resilient to climate change.”

Advancing Important Commitments To Undrip

With the majority of projects supporting the exercise of Indigenous rights and incorporating Indigenous knowledge in planning, they are advancing important commitments to UNDRIP and providing inspiring examples of what is possible through strong investments in watershed conservation and restoration, community leadership, and relationship building.

“Water is critical for us, for all of us. For myself, as an Indigenous person, it takes me back to my roots, my origin,” said Mavis Underwood, Chair of the Healthy Watersheds Initiative Indigenous Leaders Advisory Circle and Governor for the Real Estate Foundation of BC. “We have a destiny that was here in the hearts and minds of people before us, generations before us that connect us back to the land and the water. Indigenous law in most cases describes a relationship of gratitude, respect and responsibility for air, land, water, and species that are gifts through creation to help sustain all life. It is exciting to see the outcomes from the work of the project teams and it is inspiring to see young people who are leading the way and are making a difference in their watersheds.”

The work completed through the HWI demonstrates the success and cost-effectiveness of working in partnership to resource and bring communities together to improve local watershed security. Overall, the report amplifies the extraordinary co-benefits of the work for ecosystems, economies, community health, and well-being.

The HWI projects were supported through a $27 million investment from StrongerBC — a $10 billion COVID-19 economic recovery plan. To deliver the funding, the province partnered with the Real Estate Foundation of BC (REFBC), who administered the Healthy Watersheds Initiative (HWI), in partnership with Watersheds BC.