Funded Projects

Okanagan Nation Alliance is partnering with the Okanagan Collaborative Conservation Program on this project. The kɬúsx̌nítkw, Okanagan Lake Responsibility Planning Initiative, aims to change decision-making processes, policy and land use practices to increase protection and security measures for siwɬkʷ, water across the entire Okanagan and Similkameen t´əctx̌ap tl tqalqaltikn, Watersheds.

Since 2019, the initiative has used a Syilx-led planning process to bring together communities and over 30 non-Syilx partners to examine issues and solutions for greater water protection and security. This body of work has gathered the necessary information to address watershed health and security issues regionally by working collaboratively with Syilx and local government to co-create a strategic siwɬkʷ, Water Responsibility Action Plan in 2024-26.

This will establish a new Syilx led governance structure that equally represents the interests of Syilx and non- Syilx partners in the development and implementation of the Plan. Drafting the document siwɬkʷ, Water Responsibility Action Plan, in collaboration with Syilx and non-Syilx participants, will result in a long-term management tool for Watershed planning that will also serve as a template for other communities in BC and Canada.

“Existing water planning frameworks often treat water primarily as a commodity, resulting in the underrepresentation of Syilx rights, laws, and responsibilities. Legal integration—embedding Syilx laws and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) within local and provincial frameworks—ensures that outcomes are enforceable, equitable, and sustainable.”— Project team