2009 State of the Fraser Basin Report SUSTAINABILITY SNAPSHOT 4 The Many Faces of Sustainability TABLE OF CONTENTS What’s New in This Report? 2 The Fraser Basin and Fraser Basin Council 4 Reflections on Our Journey for Sustainability 6 INDICATOR TOPICS Aboriginal & Non-Aboriginal Relations 8 Agriculture & Food 12 Air Quality 16 Biodiversity 20 Business & Sustainability 24 Climate Change 28 Community Engagement 32 Consumption & Waste 36 Economy 40 Education 42 Energy 46 Fish & Fisheries 50 Forests & Forestry 54 Health 58 Housing 62 Income & Employment 66 Population & Demographics 70 Water Quality & Quantity 72 Regional Highlights 76 Summary of Sustainability Highlights 80 Steps for Sustainability 84 Photo Credits 88 Fraser Basin Council Offices 88 Fraser Basin Council Directors 89 Thanks to Our Sponsors 90 1 What’s New in this Report? The 2009 Sustainability Snapshot profiles the Sustainability indicators are not complete measurements of sustainability, social, economic and environmental health of nor are they solutions in and of themselves. They can, however, help to simplify complex issues and build understanding by reflecting trends over the Fraser Basin, and is the fourth in a series of time, comparing different geographic regions and helping identify areas reports prepared by the Fraser Basin Council since where progress is being made and where change is needed. January 2003. The purpose of Snapshot 4 is to: Sustainability Snapshot 4 builds on the scope and approach of the Council’s first three Snapshot reports and includes several Increase public awareness and understanding refinements and new features. of sustainability issues and trends Identify critical issues and responses to improve progress towards sustainability Inform and influence decisions and actions to advance sustainability. Sheep Creek Bridge over the Fraser River Mark Your Calendars! The next State of the Fraser Basin Conference is coming November 2010 Refinements to the Scope of Topics WE WANT YOUR FEEDBACK The scope of sustainability topics has been refined in a few cases, including: • addition of “Biodiversity” (to include new data available for Snapshot 4); This report was shaped, in part, by feedback • substitution of “Consumption & Waste” (to combine information previously and suggestions received following each of reported in sections on “Population & Consumption” and “Wastes & Toxins;” and the previous Sustainability Snapshot reports • deletion of “Natural Hazards” (due to a lack of new data available for Snapshot 4). released in January 2003, November 2004 and November 2006. The Council values Updates and Refinements to the Indicators the insights and perspectives of individuals, Indicator trends have been updated, where possible, since the release of government representatives, people in Sustainability Snapshot 3. In many cases, recent data (such as 2006 census the business community and those in civil data) were available; however, in some cases, updated data were not yet society. Once again, we invite feedback. available, so alternative indicators or approaches were used to refine the Please let us know: report and update the analysis. In some cases, a broader suite of indicators is presented to provide a more complete picture of the state of sustainability • Is the report useful in guiding your actions and to provide fresh insights. and decisions to advance sustainability? • In what ways are you using the report Actions – The Many Faces of Sustainability and the indicators? Complementing the quantitative indicators and data are examples of • How can the report be made more sustainability action, and some of the many “faces” of sustainability – the useful and useable? people who are leading positive change in communities across the Basin. • What suggestions do you have to improve future Sustainability Snapshot reports? Regional Sustainability Highlights Snapshot 4 profiles each of the five regions of the Fraser Basin – A feedback form is available on Upper Fraser, Cariboo-Chilcotin, Thompson, Fraser Valley and Greater the Fraser Basin Council website Vancouver-Sea to Sky (GVSS) – along with highlights of indicator trends (www.fraserbasin.bc.ca), or by request. where there were data specific to those regions: see pages 76-79. Summary of Sustainability Highlights For each of the topics, two to three “headline indicators” have been selected ONLINE as highlights. These are presented together in a concise format to show “at a glance” the status of each, which indicators are getting better or worse, Watch for the online versions: and the overall state of sustainability in the Fraser Basin: see pages 80-83. www.fraserbasin.bc.ca In addition, an analysis has been undertaken to assess change across all the indicators since the publication of Sustainability Snapshot 3 in November 2006. Sustainability Snapshot 4 will be available on the Fraser Basin Council website in PDF Steps for Sustainability in February 2009. Following the release of In previous Snapshot reports, actions to advance sustainability were offered the print and PDF versions of this report, MORE for each of the topics. In this report, actions have been collated across all watch for our interactive online report, INFORMATION topics and combined in a separate section – Steps for Sustainability. These coming mid-2009. Visit the Fraser Basin actions are tailored for individuals and organizations, including governments, Council website at www.fraserbasin.bc.ca. businesses and non-profit organizations: see pages 84 to 87. For information on the Fraser Basin Council’s Maps Sustainability Indicators Sustainability Snapshot 4 includes two maps of the Fraser Basin (see Program, contact: enclosed map sheet in back pocket). Map 1 includes an overview of the Fraser Basin and each of its five regions, and Map 2 presents some of the Steve Litke key land uses in the Fraser Basin, including the history of forest harvesting, Senior Program Manager the Agricultural Land Reserve, Protected Areas and grasslands. www.fraserbasin.bc.ca (604) 488-5358 [email protected] Fraser Basin Council Area of Interest Part of the Greater Vancouver-Sea to Sky (GVSS) region, including the region Fraser Basin Council from North Vancouver to Whistler, is technically outside of the Fraser River 1st Floor watershed boundary. The data analysis in this report, however, often includes 470 Granville Street this area in the Fraser Basin because it is an area of interest and operations Vancouver, BC V6C 1V5 of the Fraser Basin Council. 3 The Fraser Basin and Fraser Basin Council BC’s FRASER BASIN High atop Mount Robson, small streams trickle down, merge, and transform into the headwaters of the Fraser River. As the river takes shape, it begins to reveal a character as stunning as the landscapes and communities it traverses. From small mountain river to raging rapids, the river proves its might at every turn, travelling 1,400 km to meet the Pacific Ocean at the Strait of Georgia. On its journey, the Fraser carves an S-shape across British Columbia’s heartland, anchoring an arterial network of tributary rivers and streams that fan out across 240,000 square km and carry fresh water to the land, the people and the animals and plants. The Fraser is BC’s longest river, and the Fraser Basin the province’s largest watershed. The Basin has been home to the first faces of sustainability – those of First Nations, the original occupants – for more than 10,000 years. First Nations people bring a tradition of respect for the water and land and their inhabitants and an ethic of stewardship. These hold lessons for everyone who cares about sustainability. The past 200 years have brought about rapid change. Today the Basin is home to 2.7 million people – two-thirds of BC’s population – the faces of many cultures, languages and religions. Mutual acceptance, understanding and collaboration among different peoples is key to living We want to see the Fraser Basin as a peacefully together and ensuring all can fulfil their potential. place where social well-being is supported From Vanderhoof to Prince George, Williams Lake and Kamloops to the most by a vibrant economy and sustained by populated stretches of the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver, the Fraser a healthy environment. Basin is a place where many communities thrive. There are numerous natural resources, and many livelihoods directly or indirectly depend upon forestry, agriculture, tourism, transportation, industry and businesses of all kinds. Yet there are social, economic and environmental challenges that confront communities of the Fraser Basin: rapid urban expansion, resource consumption, pollution, waste, water shortages, public health problems, economic uncertainties and disparities, social inequity, loss of biodiversity, and over-arching threats from global climate change – such as changes in air and water temperature, extreme weather events, sea level rise and changes in natural habitat, forest viability and agricultural productivity. All of this calls for a shift from short-term to long-term thinking, and for action that respects the well-being of future generations. In essence, it calls for sustainability. 4 THE FRASER BASIN COUNCIL The Fraser Basin Council is committed to bringing together decision- makers and others from diverse areas who wish to identify and respond to sustainability concerns, begin a dialogue and seek collaborative solutions. Formed in 1997, the Fraser Basin Council (FBC) is a charitable, not-for- profit body committed to advancing sustainability in the