Stakeholder Engagement Workshop

Project Watershed was recently invited to a stakeholder engagement workshop for the Province of BC’s new Coastal Marine Strategy Intentions Paper.

Project Watershed was recently invited to a stakeholder engagement workshop for the Province of BC’s new Coastal Marine Strategy Intentions Paper. The intentions paper is the first step in creating a Coastal Marine Strategy which aims to guide coastal management within the Province. This strategy “aims to improve stewardship and protection of marine and coastal areas” (British Columbia, 2022). The intentions paper, which was co-developed with First Nations across BC, is available online for review: Coastal-Marine-Strategy-Intentions-Paper.pdf (gov.bc.ca). If you’re short on time, there’s also a summary available: Microsoft PowerPoint – CMS Intentions Paper Summary_FINAL (gov.bc.ca). As a part of this process, the public is also welcomed and encouraged to give feedback on the marine coastal strategy intentions papers. You can do so through a feedback questionnaire or through a written submission. The feedback period is open until April 14th at 4pm PST. 

As a part of the engagement sessions, Project Watershed highlighted the importance of supporting local communities in stewarding their regions, collaborating and partnering with many and diverse stakeholders and rightholders, and integrating climate change and climate change resiliency into all strategies. We also recognized the importance of skills-development, supporting a stewardship-based economy, and youth mentorship.