Protecting the Great Lakes Through Actions in Watersheds
Our activities on the land impact the health and sustainability of the Great Lakes which we depend on, daily, for our drinking water, livelihoods and social well-being. Given  the premise that healthy watersheds contribute to healthy Great Lakes, a more integrated approach that recognizes the connections between the Great Lakes and their watersheds can be used to identify threats and actions that can be taken to ensure current and future sustainability of this important resource.
Integrated watershed management enables a host
of interconnected issues to be addressed collectively, offering a number of benefits such as science-based decision-making, improved collaboration, and leveraging existing local environmental and natural resource investments ultimately resulting in more sustainable outcomes.
An IWM approach supports:
- improved water quality and erosion management,
- more resilient biodiversity and habitats,
- more sustainable economic and recreation opportunities,
- improved quality of life and neighbourhood desirability, and
- greater ability for Ontario's watersheds to adapt to the impacts of climate change.
How to achieve greater Great Lakes sustainability:
1. Set measurable targets for nearshore areas to achieve Great Lakes objectives;
2. Ensure coordinated actions by various watershed stakeholders (including agencies and municipalities) takes place through integrated watershed management;
3. Enhance existing tools and programs (e.g. urban and rural stormwater management) to implement local actions for broader Great Lakes benefits and to engage Ontarians' support for their Great Lakes;
4. Support actions with adequate science, research and monitoring;
5. Build upon existing models for efficiency (both watershed and bi-national) and without the creation of additional prescriptive processes requiring excessive provincial oversight.
For more Information
This newsletter is produced and circulated by Conservation Ontario , the organization that represents Ontario's 36 Conservation Authorities.
P.O. Box 11, 120 Bayview Parkway, Newmarket ON L3Y 4W3
(Tel) 905. 895.0716 Email: info@conservationontario.ca
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