World Water Day film screening

Aerial shot of Columbia River and how it wends through the valley. Credit: BohdanDoval.com Water may not need a passport to cross the border, but that doesn't mean that fresh water has been free to do what's necessary to sustain life. The POLIS Project on Ecological Governance is hosting a film screening and conversation at the University of Victoria to showcase the importance of freshwater management and governance in celebration of World Water Day. Changing Course: A River's Journey of Reconnection will premiere on March 21 at the UVic showcasing shifts observed with the Columbia River-a transboundary river deemed critically important for its cultural, social, economic and ecological values. "The Columbia River and Columbia River Treaty renegotiation process offer lessons that can be applied to all'international watersheds around the world. This film tells the history of the Columbia-the good, bad, ugly, and the actions needed to improve its ecosystem health to make it more resilient to the changing climate." - Jon O'Riordan, strategic water policy advisor to the POLIS Water Sustainability Project and co-producer of the film The film explores the degradation of the Columbia River, which was once one of the most productive salmon rivers in the world. It looks at the dams and storages that eliminated wild salmon from the main stem of the river in Canada, and how this loss cut the heart out of Indigenous culture throughout the basin.