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Capacity to manage water resources : perspective for the Sechelt Nation

University of British Columbia

The capacity to determine the future of any community depends on the extent of options available. This thesis describes the historical development of control over water resources, and how this impacts on the Sechelt Indian Bands (SIB) capacity to determine their future interests. Water management is a concern for the SIB both in terms of their being able to determine their future development, but also for non-consumptive issues such as maintenance of their fisheries. The construction of management authorities via legislation has curtailed the capacity for the SIB to define the development of Sechelt lands and participate in the management of water. The Sechelt Indian Band Self-Government Act was negotiated by the Sechelt people to expand control over the development of Band lands and resources. This municipal model of self-government, although it affords some benefits with respect to community access of water, is constrained by the continuance of licensed priority allocations, overlapping bureaucracies, and the Provinces focus on program (versus area) management. The Provincial the Chapman/Gray Integrated Watershed Management process, was reviewed to ascertain whether, by their participation in this process, the SIB has wrested any control over water and water management. The discussion highlights that: within the process extractive industries are still a priority, this can be a prohibitively protracted experience, and that the responsibility conferred on the water purveyor does not enable the authority to deliver quality water. This affects the Bands capacity to actualize their community vision.

Thesis/Dissertation

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2009-03-25

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/6486

Resource Management and Environmental Studies

University of British Columbia

UBCV

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