Integrated water resource management and British Columbia’s Okanagan Basin Water Board

Abstract

This study examines successes and limitations of integrated water resource management (IWRM) for the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), a basin management entity in British Columbia, Canada. Effective governance, adequate financing and scientifically informed decision making are attributes contributing to the OBWB’s IWRM success. OBWB’s IWRM challenges include meaningful engagement of First Nations, public apathy towards water governance, succession planning for retiring professionals, and management authority limitations. Constraints on the OBWB’s authority and perceived lack of need to formalize the IWRM approach will affect other local IWRM applications. The study adds a western Canadian example of basin management to IWRM practice.

Keywords:

• Integrated Water Resources Management
• Okanagan Basin Water Board
• British Columbia
• water governance
• financial models
• science-based capacity