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Global Water Trends Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) Water withdrawals from rivers and lakes doubled since 1960; most water use (70% worldwide) is for agriculture. Since 1960, flows of biologically available nitrogen in terrestrial ecosystems have doubled, and flows of phosphorus have tripled. Over the past few hundred years, humans have increased the species extinction rate by as much as 1,000 times over background rates typical over the planet’s history. Freshwater ecosystems have the highest proportion of species threatened with extinction.

“Outstanding Problems” Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005) “The intense vulnerability of the 2 billion people living in dryland agricultural regions to the loss of ecosystem services, including water supply; and the growing threat to ecosystems from climate change and nutrient pollution.” Nitrogen Flows Global Temperature past/projected

Water in Canada and on the Prairies Canada is averagely endowed with freshwater resources (7% of world total and a landmass of about 7% of the Earth’s surface). However water resources are concentrated in the less-accessible north. Agriculture is Canada’s largest net consumer of water (70% of all withdrawls from rivers, streams, reservoirs and wells). The Prairies account for 75% of all agricultural water consumption in Canada. Thus over half of all water consumption in Canada is in Prairie Agriculture. Prairies constantly afflicted by high hydrological variability (projected to worsen with climate change): –Instrumental record Droughts: 1906; (quarter million people displaced); 1961; ; 1980; ; 1988; (“the worst ever?” $3.6 B Ag /$5.8 B GDP/ jobs lost –2005 Manitoba Floods: $700 M Ag loss/ > $ 1M GDP loss projected. –Lake Winnipeg Eutrophication; $50 M freshwater fishery / $100 M tourism industry threatened. We have all the global issues in spades - how do we build resilient ecosystems and rural economies?

Millennium Assessment and the Ecosystem Services framework Adapting Mosaic – “In this scenario, regional watershed-scale ecosystems are the focus of political and economic activity. Local institutions are strengthened and local ecosystem management strategies are common; societies develop a strongly proactive approach to the management of ecosystems”

The Good News: the Provinces are (conceptually) on board (A Consensus ) All Prairie Provinces have embraced the goal of Watershed-based Integrated Water Resources Management and Governance. Manitoba Water Stewardship: The Manitoba Water Strategy - heavy emphasis on Watershed Planning through Conservation Districts Saskatchewan Watershed Authority /Water Management Framework: dedicated staff support and a systematic process for watershed planning. Alberta’s Water for Life strategy : a comprehensive watershed management framework inviting any Albertan to participate

The Implementation Challenge: Expensive and Decentralized only a limited number of watershed plans have actually been completed within the prairie water basin; even fewer implemented We have no formal learning mechanisms to learn from each other. No consensus and no clear direction on: – how we’ll meet capacity requirements for local watershed planning; –The role/type of decision support tools and degree of process transparency – the role of Economic Instruments and Ecological Goods and Services concepts (including markets for carbon credits). The challenge is how to harness the self-organizing capacity locally, build resilience for the future - AND respect our history. –The Advent of PFRA which built ecological resilience (Federal Role?) –The history of Rural Electrification and Telecom on the Prairies: expensive and massively decentralized challenges that took decades to meet using a vast array of government/community co- management and co-financing options.

The Freshwater Management Problematique 97.9% 1.16% 0.89% 0.05% (has quadrupled since 1960) 0.02%