Lower Fraser Floodplains Coalition
The flooding and landslide events of 2021-2022 in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia demonstrated the need for a new approach to emergency response and recovery.
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Main Project Contact: Mariah.Mund@emplans.ca
Project Partners
The Project
The flooding and landslide events of 2021-2022 in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia demonstrated the need for a new approach to emergency response and recovery. Both local governments and First Nation communities have been under pressure to develop recovery plans with varying levels of capacity and resources and with little to no opportunity for collaboration.
As the region moves into rebuilding in recovery, several agencies have come together to advocate for a new approach that incorporates resilience and climate adaptation principles along with collaborative approaches and shared decision making based on co-developed principles and goals with locally impacted First Nation communities, municipalities, regional districts, provincial and federal government agencies that embody legislated principles of the United Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act.
Emergency Planning Secretariat has formed a collaborative with the Fraser Valley Regional District, Watershed Watch, Resilient Waters, West Coast Environmental Law, Farmland Advantage, Kerr Wood Leidal, Ebbwater, and the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Design in coordinating discussions with local authorities, the Provincial and Federal government on a new approach to recovery that truly adopts shared principles that Build Back Better, Together.
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On July 14, 2022, EPS Chair and Sto:lo Tribal Chief, Tyrone McNeil, and Fraser Valley Regional District Chair and City of Chilliwack Councillor, Jason Lum, led a meeting coordinated by the supporting agencies to discuss foundational principles for a regional collaborative strategy to Build Back Better, Together
Over 140 representatives from Mainland Coast Salish Nations, Local Authorities, Provincial and Federal governments in the region participated in the forum.
The following report was produced based on discussions from the July 14 2022 Build Back Better, Together forum:
Reporting Back: Forum on Flood Recovery, Resilience and Reconciliation in the Lower Fraser
3 Working Groups
In efforts toward reducing systemic challenges and developing more integrated and resilient flood planning, the collaborative held a Strategic Planning Session and developed 3 working groups:
1
Advocate
To advocate for better governance and funding to do this work,
2
Convene
To convene stakeholders to build capacity & relationships, and
3
Catalyze
To catalyze projects at local and regional scales.
Our Priorities
In November, our group called on the BC Government to support consistent, best-practice flood management approaches across BC. ​We have asked the government to prioritize:
1) Supporting our collaborative to improve regional dialogue around flood recovery and resilience,
2) Redesigning funding programs and adjust regulations to remove barriers to flood-resilient infrastructure,
3) Making available, at least 15% of disaster recovery costs for improving resilience, restoring stream connectivity, and advancing reconciliation in the floodplain, and
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4) Engaging the region in identifying specific needs for funding and capacity by reviewing existing policies and creating a map of areas of high risk and critical infrastructure.
The coalition is also in the early stages of organizing a “Farmer and First Nation Forum” to bring together the groups most disproportionately impacted by flooding and best suited to provide solutions pre- and post-event. This forum is a space to foster relationships, hear from each group on their shared experiences of flooding in their homes and lands, and begin the process of finding a path forward for flood resilience that benefits us all. This forum is scheduled for February, more details to follow as we get organized.
Project Contact:
Mariah Mund, mariah.mund@emplans.ca