The results are in! National CBM Survey Highlights

Growing Momentum

Through a diversity of monitoring, stewardship and guardian programs, communities across Canada are playing an increasingly important role in gathering critical information about the health of their watersheds. As interest in community-based water monitoring (CBWM) grows, investments to organize and implement community-driven initiatives are being made. However, to realize the full potential of these efforts, there is a need for strategic thinking, collaboration, and coordination, including at the national level.

Our Survey

To find out more, the water team at The Gordon Foundation, Living Lakes Canada and WWF-Canada sent out an online survey to ask you – the water community – what federal support is needed to help sustain the growing CBWM network. Specifically, we hoped to:

1. Build a better understanding of common issues CBWM initiatives face and prioritize future efforts around these; and,
2. Identify strategic opportunities at the federal level to build on CBWM work across the country.

Who We Heard From

We heard back from 146 people from a wide range of backgrounds doing work in every corner of the country.

We heard from technical leads, project coordinators, executive directors, volunteers, policy analysts, researchers, funders, government representatives, and many more. Most respondents represented non-governmental organizations (45%) and government departments at different levels (17%).

Priorities to Advance CBWM in Canada - What We Heard

Among other issues identified, participants pointed out that in many cases, despite the successes of CBWM programs - data collected are not being used to their full potential and groups are struggling to maintain long-term monitoring activities on a shoestring budget.

When asked to identify their specific concerns, the highest ranked priorities included: sustainable funding (33%), data management (17%), interjurisdictional coordination (16%), communicating results (15%), and strategic monitoring (8%) .

Collective Action is Needed

Survey respondents agree that there are opportunities for national-level supports to help sustain and network CBWM across the country. Participants further agree that convening a national discussion would help federal departments put in place more effective institutional and collaborative processes to maximize the value and impact of CBWM.