Sustaining Local Riverine Environments: The River Valleys Committee in Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

Wild rivers, sparkling lakes and immense glaciers are an integral part of Canadian life and identity. Abundant, high quality water resources have sustained Canada’s quality of life for centuries; our lakes and rivers have provided a template for the settlement patterns of the country and have sustained the many economic and recreational activities of Canadians. Yet, in only one generation, concerns about the availability, supply and quality of Canada’s water resources have challenged long-held perceptions and required new ways of visualising, representing, understanding and managing water resources. These concerns are, perhaps, most evident in western Canada’s prairie provinces where population growth, drought conditions, climate variability and change, agricultural and industrial development and urbanisation have placed increasing pressure on water resources. Political debate about these water concerns frequently has pitted environmental protection against economic prosperity. However, if water (and other) resources are to be valued as natural capital assets, they must be recognised as such and embedded within public policy decisions. Even though western Canadians place a high priority on environmental protection, ensuring that public policy frameworks integrate stewardship of natural capital with economic growth remains a political challenge. Natural capital is a relatively new term that is entering public policy discussions about the need to invest in protection of water, land and other environmental resources that sustain our way of life and support economic activities. Often, reconciling resource development with preservation of natural capital depends on effective community consultation and involvement. Since 1990, Calgary’s River Valleys Committee (RVC) has been working to protect and enhance the city’s riverine environments and to ensure that City Administration is encouraged and exhorted to develop and implement effective mechanisms to protect and sustain water resources as the city grows. This chapter focuses on the establishment and activities of the RVC, how its members are helping to present water resources as natural capital assets and how this representation has influenced public policy regarding water resources as natural capital. The chapter first describes the nature of, and some of the major pressures