Abstract Details

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5/19/2015  |   09:15 - 10:00   |  Ballroom ABC

Plenary II
A ROAD MAP FOR A THRIVING GREAT LAKES BASIN For over a century, governments on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border have employed various policy instruments and management tools to protect the Great Lakes. Yet this freshwater resource continues to show signs of impaired ecosystem health. The Great Lakes Futures Project engaged over 100 stakeholders from Canada and the U.S. to conduct a future scenario analysis, where we asked: What forces are driving changes? What are the key uncertainties associated with these drivers? And if the future unfolds as described in the scenarios, then what would we do about it? A consensus emerged that a breakdown in the policy regime governing the Great Lakes basin is leading us towards an undesirable future. Members of the Futures Project proposed an adaptation of an International Organization of Standardization risk management standard that will allow governments to shed light on why, despite best intentions, management systems are not working, and enable governments to continually improve the performance of the management system until the risk of policy failures are reduced to acceptable levels, bringing new hope to the future of the Great Lakes.

Irena Creed (POC), School of Environment and Sustainability, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, irena.creed@usask.ca;
Irena Frances Creed is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Watershed Sciences at Western University in Canada. Her research leadership and activity have improved our understanding of watershed hydrological and biogeochemical functions under present and predicted climate scenarios. By coupling this understanding with innovative techniques in geographic information systems, remote sensing and modeling to characterize these functions, she has enabled governments to develop planning and regulatory tools in support of innovative policies designed to ensure the sustainability of watershed systems.