Submission to the Gabriola Local trust Committee
The Official Community Plan Review
JUNE 24, 2010

The Peoples Agreement: the path to save Mother Earth from Climate Destruction
Maude Barlow’s (Council of Canadians chairperson) address to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the UN in New York, May 7, 2010
COUNCIL OF CANADIANS)
(Excerpts)


“Mr. President. Mr. Secretary,

Civil society groups and social movements applaud the initiative of the Bolivian
Government for the space created for the World Peoples Climate Summit to
happen in Cochabamba, Bolivia last month. It was a true space for social
movements, environmental movements, indigenous peoples and governments to
raise their voices, concerns and ideas on how to understand as well as how to
tackle climate change. As groups comprising millions of peoples in the world this
was a sorely needed space that was indeed inclusive and respectful. It was a
space for frank examination of the climate crisis and the proffering of solutions…
The climate debt is also about taking actions needed to restore the natural cycles
of Mother Earth and one clear way of achieving this will be through the
proclamation of a Universal Declaration on the Rights of Mother Earth with clear obligations on humans. (Adopted on April 27, 2010, at the World Peoples Climate Summit. Find at http://climateandcapitalism.com/?p=2268)
The Peoples Agreement recognizes that the causes of climate change are
systemic and that systemic changes are needed to tackle them. On this note, the
model of civilization that is hinged on uncontrolled development can only
compound the crisis. The world needs to move towards Living Well and not
continue on the path of domination of others and of conspicuous and wasteful
consumption.
An area glossed over in the UNFCCC negotiations is the role of industrial
agriculture in climate change. The Peoples Conference debated this key sector
and reached the agreement that the way to a sustainable future is through the
enthronement of food sovereignty based on agroecological and peasant
agricultural systems. Water is a public trust and an inalienable human right and
the global destruction of the world’s water and its commodification was clearly
highlighted in the Peoples Agreement.
In all, the Peoples Agreement recognizes that real strategies to tackle climate
change must be based on the principles of equity and justice in dealing with
the structural causes. Without climate justice it will clearly be impossible to
achieve the much talked about Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)…
As representatives of peoples from across the world we urge the United Nations
system to embrace the contributions captured by the Peoples Agreement and
other outcomes of the Cochabamba World peoples Conference on Climate
Change and to use them as the key to untangle the gridlock that is keeping the
world on the path to even more climate chaos.


We look to you, Mr. Secretary General, to help make this happen.
Thank you.





SCOPE
This is a model of our natural infrastructure, our water supply on Gabriola:

WATER comes in three forms, and it is named it for each form that it takes

SURFACE WATER is lakes, streams, and ponds etc., in other words, water which is found on the surface of the landscape.

GROUNDWATER is water within aquifers. This is water which is found underground within pores in the rock.

ATMOSPHERIC WATER is water that falls as rain or snow or condenses from fog or simply water vapor in the air. This water is equally as important to our management of water stocks. If this component of water is ignored, we cannot say that water is to be managed in a comprehensive water management plan.

The GGMS LOGO exemplifies this model of water.

Islands Trust Submission to Water Act Modernization – April 30, 2010
“Summary of Issues and Recommendations Relevant to the Islands Trust Area, Surface water/Groundwater, April 2010”

“Issue: Groundwater and surface water are interrelated and need to be treated as such, including regulation and licensing of both groundwater and surface water as one system.
Recommendation: Integrate the management of groundwater and surface water. Avoid conflict by updating the water allocations system. Move beyond first-in-time-first-in-right (FITFIR) system to a system that promotes conservation, discourages overconsumption, and prioritizes water for ecosystems, functioning watersheds and basic human needs.”
RECOMMENDATION:
Rainwater harvesting systems should be mandatory in all construction in the Islands trust Area.

TABLE OF CONTENTS


The Peoples Agreement: (Maude Barlow to UN Secretary General)
The Path to save Mother Earth from Climate Destruction ………….2

SCOPE ……………………………………………………………….3

TABLE OF CONTENTS ………………………………………………...4

CLIMATE CHANGE …………………………………….......………….5

CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION …………………...........................6

PRINCIPLES ……………………………………………………………..7

1 CHANGING WATER ACT ………………………………………………8

2 ESTABLISHING PRIORITIES OF GOVERNANCE ………………..9

3 GROWTH ……………………………………………………………….10

4 SPECIAL CASES ………………………………………………………10

5 REGULATE GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION AND USE ………...12

6 STORMWATER MANAGEMENT ……………………………………...13

7 HYDROFRACTURING ……………………………............................13

8 WELL WATCHERS AND OBSERVATION WELLS ……………......14

9 DROUGHT ………………………………………………………………15

10 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ……………………………16

APPENDIX A - RDN Report DW/WP Stewardship Committee ……...17

APPENDIX B – Polis Project - Soft Path Water, SaltSpring Isl. ……..20

APPENDIX C – Islands trust Submission WAM, Apr. 2010 …………..22

APPENDIX D – GGMS – Measuring Static Levels of Well Water ……..25