Lessons from Local Integrated Watershed Management

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Lessons from Local Integrated Watershed Management

• Sonya Meek
• CWRA National President
• Global Issues Project Water Issues Roundtable
• Canadian Pugwash Science for Peace
• November 8, 2008

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Case 1 Rouge River Watershed Plan

• Led by multi-stakeholder task force
• Interdisciplinary analysis of future scenarios at
  all scales on watershed basis
• Strategic recommendations to guide sustainable
  urban growth and watershed regeneration
• Approved March 2008 and its already being
  implemented by many partners

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Case 2 Partners in Project Green A Pearson
Eco-business Zone

• 12,000 ha of employment lands
• 12,000 businesses
• 350,000 employed in area (Canadas largest
  employment area)
• 5.8 million MWh of electricity-use (1/26th of
  Ontarios consumption)
• 46.5 million GJ of natural gas use
• 108.5 million m3 of water consumption
• 1.7 million tonnes of GHGs

• Targets
• 20 energy reduction (2015)
• 10 of buildings green retrofit (2015)
• 10 renewable energy generation (2015)
• 15 per capita (2025) (Peel)

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Case 2 contd Partners in Project Green
Programs and Projects

• One-Window Eco-Efficiency Audit (free assessment,
  cost-shared audit and implementation assistance)
• Green Building Retrofit (assistance on
  retrofitting multiple buildings)
• Waste Re-Utilization Network (facilitating waste
  exchange opportunities)
• Green Purchasing Blocks (multi-business
  procurement of green technologies)
• Airport District Energy System (undertaking
  feasibility assessment of district energy
  opportunities)
• Green Parking Lot Program (cost shared re-design
  of landscaped and parking areas)
• Green Job Development (Green Job Corp. Green
  Business Retention Strategy)

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Lesson 1 IWM is effective and could be used
elsewhere to achieve cooperative solutions.

• A few reasons why its effective
• Inclusive, shared decision-making (vs. top down)
• Common vision and goals
• Implementers are involved
• Watershed is a manageable scale
• Integrated more creative solutions
• Fosters shift toward demand management,
  stewardship ethic, culture of conservation
• Fosters local champions

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Implications for a Canadian National Water
Strategy (CNWS)

• Despite instances of local leadership, there is
  not always the capacity or full participation by
  all key players in all regions of Canada.
• There is a need for a Canada-wide strategy that
  can facilitate effective leadership at all
  scales.
• A CNWS could help clarify roles, address gaps in
  capacity and provide consistency among regions
• A CNWS could ensure effective responses to
  current and emerging challenges and threats
  common across Canada.

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Lesson 2 Principles of IWM could be followed
in the development of an effective CNWS

• Participation by all stakeholders
• Commonly endorsed goals and principles
• Specific commitments to action on key areas
• Able to evolve and adapt
• Mechanism to track implementation progress
• Builds on existing governance structures

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Proposed Process for Development of a CNWS
Leadership Team Formation
Discussion Paper
Consensus Building Workshops
Strategy Development
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Sectoral Representation in Leadership Team

• International
• Federal
• Aboriginal
• Provincial
• Local government
• Water users
• Water related NGOs

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Summary 3 Lessons

1. The IWM approach has the potential to be used
   elsewhere for achieving cooperative solutions to
   water management issues
2. A CNWS could facilitate the practice of local
   integrated watershed management (IWM) in Canada
   Principles of IWM could be used in the process to
   develop an effective CNWS.
3. Although Canada is not the first country to
   develop a national water strategy, a CNWS and the
   process followed to develop it can be a model for
   cooperation in other diverse regions.

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www.cwra.org Sonya Meek CWRA National
President smeek_at_trca.on.ca