Caring for the Commons
At a minimum these days, responsible development means evaluating a project using a triple bottom line – the benefits and risks analysed from a social, environmental and economic basis.
And using this approach to its fullest will help put a price on what economists call ‘externalities’, which is a very important topic for rural areas like Stikine. Externalities are factors that can directly influence the benefit/risk equation for a project but don’t have a dollar value directly attached to them, and therefore are usually ignored in a single focus analysis based solely on economic benefit.
More often than not, externalities involve use of ‘the Commons’, things that are not necessarily owned but are shared by all, such as clean water and fresh air. But a recent event made me think about the Commons in another sense.
The Bulkley Valley Backpackers just celebrated their 20th anniversary by hosting a community dinner to honour Einar and Barry Blix. As the Backpackers put it: “All of you who enjoy hiking, skiing and snowshoeing the myriad of wonderful trails located in the Bulkley Valley, should stop for a moment to consider how much we owe to the pioneering work of Einar and Barri Blix…Einar’s book, “Trails to Timberline” is the authoritative source relied on by outdoor recreationists of all stripes to lead us to the hidden gems contained in the mountains that surround us.”
In the early 1990s, I was part of the volunteer team that developed the framework for the Bulkley Valley Community Resource Board. We spent many long winter nights working on a format that would be acceptable to community, industry and the provincial government, with the goal of increasing local control over what goes on in our own backyard. Einar attended many of those early sessions. He was able to articulate the balance of being part of the world of industrial development but still having a full appreciation and understanding of the Commons – in this case the trail system and the country it accesses – that is so important to the quality of life we enjoy in our area.
Clean air, fresh water, wild salmon, a good trail system – these are just some elements of the Commons that must be counted as more than “externalities” when considering responsible development in the northwest.