Factors Facilitating and Constraining the Inclusion of First Nations in Watershed Planning in Alberta, Canada

Alberta’s Water for Life strategy was released by the Government of Alberta in 2003 and has since received international praise for its collaborative approach to water resource management. Water for Life supports collaborative activities with shared responsibilities and forms the framework for the management of Alberta’s water resources. This research examines the degree to which First Nations in Alberta were included in the development and implementation of Water for Life in Alberta. For the purpose of this thesis not only the Water for Life strategy was analyzed but also Alberta’s Watershed Planning and Advisory Councils (WPACs) and their watershed planning processes. The WPACs were created under the Water for Life strategy with each council representing a major river basin in Alberta. WPACs are diverse and range greatly in land area and number of First Nation reserves within each watershed. Data collection consisted of manifest and latent analysis using a qualitative analysis software as well as follow up telephone interviews with WPAC watershed planners in order to receive a deeper understanding of the plan-making process. The results indicate factors that facilitate the inclusion of First Nations in watershed planning. Facilitating factors include pre-existing relationships with communities as well as communicating to individuals in the community who are interested in water-related issues. The main findings from this research identified five constraining factors to the inclusion of First Nations in watershed planning in Alberta. These constraining factors include cultural connections; physical parameters; governance; human capacity; and financial limitations. This research recommends multiple ways in which the current watershed planning framework in Alberta could be adapted to be more inclusive of First Nations while at the same time provide a more collaborative watershed planning model for other jurisdictions in Canada