Water Canada – October 24, 2018
Last week, 250 attendees at the siwłkʷ (WATER) FOR ALL – OUR RESPONSIBILITY Environmental Flow Needs Conference listened, shared, and discussed how to ensure water for fish, and everything else that depends on water.
The conference was hosted by the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) and the Canadian Water Resources Association (CWRA) – BC Branch at Kelowna’s Coast Capri Hotel, in partnership with Okanagan Nation Alliance. It brought together representatives from national and international organizations working in water management or research, including fisheries and water managers, First Nations, farmers, ranchers, regulators, policy-makers, academia, and NGOs. The topic: Environmental Flow Needs (EFNs).
“This was largely about relationship building because EFNs are such a complicated issue,” said Nelson Jatel, OBWB’s water stewardship director and conference co-chair. “We’re working today, not for us, but for our kids’ kids, and there’s no way to do that until we know our neighbours.”