Regional District Offered Guidance on Sustainability Planning
By 250 News
Friday, August 21, 2009 03:50 AM
Prince George, B.C. – The Fraser Basin Council is calling on the Regional District of Fraser Fort George to engage long term thinking for 100 years down the road when it does its sustainability planning. Under the gas tax agreement which returns funds to communities, those recipients must do some sustainability planning.
The Fraser Basin Council’s Joan Chess says such planning will achieve several goals:
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will address conflicting goals,
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set priorities,
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align the whole organization,
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provide measurements to ensure there is progress towards goals, and
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help communities honour their commitments.
There are a number of challenges facing communities like, economic uncertainty, housing affordability, land use conflicts, high cost of infrastructure, meaningful consultation with other levels of government on issues.
Chess advised the Board of Directors there are about half a dozen frameworks for sustainability planning, and regions can adopt one, mix and match or create something new. All embrace common themes of adopting a long term plan that will look at the whole picture for a community.
She says B.C. is a “hot bed” of activity when it comes to sustainability planning with a number of communities already well on the road. The work already being done elsewhere, and the work of others can help those who are just beginning the process. The real challenge will be to develop an approach that will suit the needs of rural communities as most of the models are designed for urban communities.
The Fraser Basin Council can help host workshops on specific subjects, provide experts and offer education and training on all aspects of sustainability planning.
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Posted by: frankgeorgeson on August 21 2009 10:31 AM
So tell me, what would a sustainability plan for the regional district have looked like in 1909?
How about for BC?
Canada?
The USA?
The world??
And exactly why do we think that if we had a stustainablity plan for 2109 now that we would be anywhere near what we had plannned in 2109?
We moved from a fur trade based economy to a short term agrarian economy, to a lumber economy and recently are moving to a service economy.
Where will we be in 2109 and which types of economy will we have moved through?