Environment Canada: Lake Winnipeg Management
Lake Winnipeg is commonly referred to as Canada's sixth Great Lake, and is probably the most at risk from eutrophication—by some measures more threatened than Lake Erie was in the 1960s. Plagued by recurrent toxic algae blooms, Lake Winnipeg is situated at the tail end of a vast watershed that drains 90 per cent of the prairie agricultural region, as well as parts of four American states. Nutrient loads on Lake Winnipeg from primarily municipal and agricultural sources have apparently exceeded ecological thresholds and Lake Winnipeg is now deservedly the subject of concerted scientific and institutional attention.
In partnership with Environment Canada, IISD is involved in a multi-year project to analyze nutrient management options in the Lake Winnipeg watershed. Towards this goal, our work in the last few years has synthesized biophysical data around Lake Winnipeg to identify priorities for lake management and analyzed the use of market-based policy options for basin-wide management for improving water quality.
The year-one report, Lake Winnipeg Management Options, Lake Science and Lessons from International Best Practice, of the multi-year project derived locally appropriate lessons from integrated water resources management practice from around the world. Lake data, including point and non-point nutrient sources, were synthesized and a range of policy instruments were described to develop an appropriate mix of instruments for Lake Winnipeg management.
The year-two report, Market Based Instruments for Nutrient Management in the Lake Winnipeg Basin, explored the role of specific market-based instruments (MBIs) to reduce nutrient loads flowing to Lake Winnipeg. The MBIs analyzed for effectiveness and efficiency in this document were: payments for ecological services to farmers and landowners; water quality trading; load-based licensing of point-source effluents; wetland banking/bio-banking; and metered, full-cost, increasing block pricing. Linkages were also made between the use of specific MBIs and the recommendations made by the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board, which stressed a priority setting process for nutrient management in the Lake Winnipeg watershed.
The year-three report explored design elements and policy implications of a nutrient-trading framework in the research paper Water Quality Trading in the Little Saskatchewan Watershed. This research was complemented by research conducted for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and published in the paper Water Quality Trading in the Lake Winnipeg Basin.
Currently, in year four, we are taking a strategic approach to assist in the development of a Lake Winnipeg Information Portal, initiated by Environment Canada.
