Cowichan Roundtables…
a made in Cowichan Process
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Embracing crisis
and building relationships
Process
Perspectives
Outcomes
The Next 20 Minutes….
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The Roundtables
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Stewardship
Fisheries
Water and governance
The Dynamic – what
makes it work?
Outcome examples
Challenges
And the bottom line…
Cowichan Stewardship
Roundtable
Working together – Making a
Difference…
Cowichan Stewardship Roundtable
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One of three linked Cowichan Roundtables
Deals with productive capacity of the watershed
Who Plays?
• First Nations, Sr. Level Government Agencies, Local
Government, Industry, Stewardship Groups, Stakeholders
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What are the Rules?
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Consensus based and open
Watershed goals prioritized
Address limiting factors and needs of participants
Pooling of resources, expertise and influence
Flexible and Opportunistic…
What Makes it Work?
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Initially – Trust
building exercise
Focus on
commonalities – not
differences
Low Hanging Fruit
In Crisis lies
Opportunity…
Outcome Example – Stoltz Slide
Outcome Example – Stoltz Slide
 Slope failure –
point source of sediment
input of massive scale
 Documented negative impacts
 Common goal – strange bedfellows…
 Common vision – strong partnership – well
funded
 Pooled expertise – challenging project
completed – benefits to all
Outcome Example –
Cowichan Recovery Strategy
Outcome Example –
comprehensive road map
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Science based
Coordinated implementation plan
Common goals and visions
Identifies:
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Population recovery actions
Habitat recovery actions
Stewardship recovery actions
Evaluation and monitoring
Identifies funding requirements
Cowichan Fisheries
Roundtable
Ensuring fish for the community
The process
Dealing with resources
vital to the people
Water
Salmon
Brings together groups of
people directly benefiting and
impacted by the quality of
resources
CT, Fed, Provincial,
Industry, Recreation
CT main source of food and
cultural components
Other significant cultural
components
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Trust for years First Nations, DFO,
commercial and recreation on
different sides of table
Principles and goals are competing
Continue to gain each others trust
Communication is the key
From Cowichan Tribes view DFO
previously has laid out how things to
be done
…now realize that they must listen
and begin to accommodate
CT buy in
Challenges
Positive outcomes
Able to utilize local expertise to assess the conditions
of the river and health of stocks
 Transfer of some authority for management of our
resources
 Assessment methods need to be further refined or
improved to provide consistent and reliable estimates
– including local knowledge
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Long term objectives
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First Nations and Canada / BC
bring different priorities to the
table
First Nations are looking for
and have a mandate to
recognize the right for
aboriginal people to fish for
livelihood
Seeking recognition of
governance over the
stewardship of the resources
Sole management of fisheries
in specific areas
Cowichan Water
Roundtable
Total Area = 930 km2
Cowichan Lake area = 63 km2
“Crisis” as opportunity for
collaboration and bridge building
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In 2003, lake storage was within 5 days of being totally
exhausted and mill shutdown
Without drastic early action to reduce river flows, 2006
could have been ‘the shutdown year’
In October 2006, spawning Chinook had to be moved by
truck due to inadequate river flow
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The Chinook escapement was the lowest on record
Lack of supply will have serious economic, effluent
dilution, and ecological consequences
ONLY 5 days of storage remained or
Cowichan would have dried up!
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7
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8
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ov
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Day of the Year
Lake Level
(Metres above GSC Datum)
164.75
164.50
164.25
164.00
163.75
163.50
163.25
163.00
162.75
162.50
162.25
162.00
161.75
161.50
161.25
Actual Lake Level - 2000
Actual Lake Level - 2003
Target Rule Curve
Zero Storage
Crest of Weir
Ja
n
1
113
112
111
110
109
108
107
106
105
104
103
102
101
Ja
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Lake Level
(feet above local datum)
2003 Crisis - A very near miss!
Process towards a Water
Roundtable
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Recognition that water supply is
a major limiting factor to both
stewardship and production
Stewardship Roundtable
proposes and funds basin based
water management plan
Recognition that multiple views
need to be incorporated in
design of plan
Plan needs to be facilitated by a
neutral and overarching
organization
Who is involved?
Funding Partners
 CVRD, Cowichan Tribes, DFO, MoE,
Catalyst Paper Corporation, Pacific
Salmon Commission
 Water Management Forum
 26 people -- varied interests and
geographic locations in the Basin
 Consulting team
 Led by Westland Resource Group
 The Public
 Inform plan content and support
implementation
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Plan highlights
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1 Vision, 6 Goals, 23 Objectives, 89 Actions
The Six Goals:
1. Demand management
2. Increase supply
3. Protect aquatic ecosystems
4. Reduce flooding impacts
5. Research, education, public outreach
6. Improved water governance
Proposed Governance model
CVRD
Chair
Municipalities
Farmers
Min. of Ag.
and Lands
Cowichan
Tribes
Economic
Dev.
Catalyst
Paper
Timber
Companies
Cowichan
Basin
Water
Advisory
Council
School
Districts
Fisheries &
Oceans Canada
MoE
Fisheries
Recreational
Fisheries
MoE Water
Stewardship Div.
Lakeshore
Residents
Eco-tourism
Lower Basin
Residents
Riverfront
Residents
Advancing the Plan
Until the plan is adopted and
implemented, there will be no benefits
of coordinated, comprehensive water
management in the
Cowichan Basin
Challenges…
 Sharing Power…
Gaining
Trust
– Communicating
Time,
effort, resources…
Bottom Line…
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To Achieve real and lasting gains, an inclusive, empowered,
community driven process for watershed decision making is not an
option – it is a requirement
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Bottom up process – must be supported and empowered by Sr.
Govt. – lead by community
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We are losing fish habitat every day – without any laws being
broken. A proactive planning approach is required.
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Regulatory capacity is important and necessary but the big gains will
come from community driven planning processes.
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Good public policy needs articulated implementation strategy with
links to community.
Water (Governance)
(Healthy River)
Stewardship Round Table
(Healthy Production)
Fisheries Round Table
(Healthy Harvest)
• In high risk situations, the value of the round table processes is
in building the knowledge together, building the relationships, and
building the capacity using pooled resources with people you
would otherwise never meet.