The concept of sustainability isn’t new. North America’s indigenous people recognized the importance of sustainability many hundreds of years ago. The Iroquois Confederacy expressed these feelings through by declaring that “Each generation is responsible to ensure the survival of the seventh generation into the future.”
In Canada, the early roots of sustainability can be traced to the Canadian Conservation Commission of 1915. It stressed that “Each generation is entitled to the interest on natural capital, but the principal should be handed on unimpaired.” On a broader scale, the 1987 World Commission on Environment and Development (often referred to as the Brundtland Commission) expressed its views on our common future through its definition of sustainability: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
Closer to home, the City of Kamloops has a long and proud history of initiatives in the key areas of sustainability – social, economic and environmental. Below are some examples of these past initiatives.
Community Social Plan – Kamloops was one of the early communities of its size in British Columbia to prepare a social plan. It was completed in 1993 and provided the foundation for the work of the City’s Social Planning Council (SPC). The plan focused on the City’s homeless, children and youth issues, health, education and affordable housing. In 2007, the SPC took the lead in updating this Plan. The document that resulted from this work is now in draft form
Economic Development Strategy – Following a time of growth through the 1960s and 1970s, Kamloops fell upon tough economic times in the early 1980s. These circumstances spawned the creation of the City’s first Economic Development Strategy. The strategy has been updated a number of times since. The current version of the Economic Development Strategy provides direction to the City’s economic and business development arm, Venture Kamloops.
Environmental Initiatives – Kamloops’ past environmental initiatives are broad in scope. They embrace actions in the areas of air and water quality management, energy use efficiency, and integrity of the land base. Examples includ
Even with these initiatives, there remains significant opportunity to bolster Kamloops’ approach to sustainable planning and development. In its 2006 – 2008 Strategic Plan, City Council recognized this by including a comprehensive environment plan as one of its objectives. The need for the Sustainable Kamloops Plan is rooted in Council’s desire to
In the latter part of 2006, City Council decided the strategic plan would also include social and economic components. It weaves all three into a broader context of community sustainability. This evolution recognizes the value of taking a more integrated approach to addressing environmental issues. The City’s social, economic and environmental planning exercises will inform one another, and ensure that the objectives of each are aligned with the others.
