Community-based Water Monitoring Use Cases in British to Support Planning and Decision Making | |
|---|---|
| type | Report |
| author | Paige Thurston; Ian Sharpe |
| abstract | There is a growing need for locally specific, high quality data, and knowledge to inform decision making around climate adaptation and water stewardship in British Columbia. This need is driven by increasing demands on water supply, intensifying climate impacts, and provincial commitments to support watershed security. For the purpose of this report, Community Based Water Monitoring (CBWM) refers to any monitoring or knowledge gathering that is not led by the provincial or federal governments, although these entities may be collaborators on community-led projects. CBWM leaders include First Nations governments, Indigenous-led organizations, water stewardship non-profits, local governments and regional water boards. These groups span a wide range of experience and capabilities, but with appropriate guidance and support, virtually all CBWM data can contribute to watershed management processes. To understand and expand the potential applications of CBWM, it is valuable to track the links between CBWM initiatives and specific purposes and outcomes (e.g. data “use cases”). Some CBWM groups have been collecting data for several years but have yet to see its application for stewardship or decision making. In many cases, this is due to the long-term datasets required for analysis to yield meaningful results. In the case of Indigenous Knowledge, data collection spans thousands of years and the information is available but additional support is required to see them applied. With continued support, CBWM datasets will become increasingly valuable in future years. Five data use cases have been selected to demonstrate the value of CBWM data, and to provide guidance to CBWM programs and collaborators in data application. These examples are also meant to inspire additional efforts among a wide variety of collaborators (e.g. governments, communities, industries, researchers, others) to create and publicize additional data use cases. This selection of use cases represents a diverse range of data collection methods, analysis and knowledge systems for a variety of watershed management purposes and processes. Interviews with CBWM-led data collectors and owners provided insight into the broad range of data types and purposes that CBWM groups in B.C. are currently working with. Each use case example is created through the experience and knowledge shared during these in-depth interviews. |
| keywords | Community Based Water Monitoring, CBWM, data use cases, Indigenous Knowledge |
| url | https://livinglakescanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/community-based-water-monitoring-data-use-cases-in-british-columbia-to-support-planning-and-decision-making.pdf |
| date | 2023 |
| publisher | Living Lakes Canada |
Community-based Water Monitoring Use Cases in British to Support Planning and Decision Making
