Endorsing Resilient Landscapes for Ontario

The Ontario Headwaters Institute (OHI) leads the WaterScape Program to secure enhanced protection for Ontario’s biodiversity, resilient landscapes, and healthy waters. See details here

OHI recently held round tables in it’s third project/phase to glean input into ways forward for healthier communities and living ecosystems based on integrated watershed management. OHI released a report on the “WaterScape III” and at the same time, launched a new, comprehensive and on-going WaterScape program. The Land Between is an implementation partner in this program, and together we are asking individuals and supporters to endorse the Declaration below.

The mission of the new WaterScape Program is to facilitate community discussion on the nine strategic recommendations from WaterScape III, which are the basis for a Declaration to Preserve Ontario’s Ecological Integrity and which we invite you to support.

The key aspects of the Declaration are to:

Preserve Ontario’s Biodiversity by

• Updating both the Ontario Biodiversity Strategy and its action plan Biodiversity: It’s in Our Nature;
• Establishing natural heritage targets for all of Ontario; and,
• Requiring natural heritage system planning in municipal official plans across Ontario.

Maintain Resilient Landscapes by

• Using the watershed as the appropriate scale for planning for all uses across the province;
• Re-evaluating the implementation of the government’s housing action plan; and,
• Developing a sustainability lens for land use planning and management.

Protect Healthy Waters by

• Transitioning Ontario to Integrated Watershed Management (IWM);
• Ensuring a strong, on-going role for conservation authorities in watershed management / IWM; and,
• Creating Regional Water Boards to identify ways to improve IWM and public engagement.

You can see the full Declaration and support it at https://waterscape.ca/declaration/.

You can also download the Declaration Waterscape-Declaration-on-Ecological-Integrity