Evaluating the “Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation” framework: A case study of the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable management plan

The Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable is collaboratively developing a watershed management plan for the lower Coquitlam River, using the “Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation” framework. Developed by the Conservation Measures Partnership (a group of international NGOs), this framework is intended to guide the design and implementation of conservation projects using an integrative approach and an adaptive management cycle. Although the Open Standards framework is being used to develop conservation projects in several settings in North America, it remains unknown whether the framework will successfully achieve the goals of sustainable water resource management and address uncertainty when implemented at the watershed scale by community-based organizations. The purpose of this research is to determine if the application of the “Open Standards for the Practice of Conservation” framework by the Coquitlam River Watershed Roundtable will achieve the goals of the roundtable and the goals of sustainable water resource management. TOBECONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Murray B. Rutherford

Student:

Partner:

City of Coquitlam

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Sustainability & the Environment

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: