The first Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement established a Water Quality Board and a Research or Science Advisory Board to investigate and report on specific issues of concern to assist the IJC in assessing the progress of contracts. It also created a Regional Office for the Great Lakes to support these organizations and the IJC in its responsibilities under the agreement. While the composition of these boards has evolved over the years, both are essential elements of the IJC`s work. Visit their websites to learn more about their current research priorities, reports, workshops and webinars. The IJC plays a key role in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement process. By assessing efforts to restore the Great Lakes ecosystem, sharing its views on the health of the Great Lakes, and conducting its own research on the problems facing the lakes, the IJC assesses the effectiveness of government programs in achieving the goals and objectives of the Agreement. Its assessment reports and recommendations, every three and two years, help both countries broaden or modify their approaches to specific challenges and ensure that the agreement evolves to address future lake problems. The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLTA) is an agreement between Canada and the United States that was first signed in 1972. It contributes to the quality of life of millions of Canadians by setting shared priorities and coordinating actions to restore and protect the chemical, physical and biological integrity of the waters of the Great Lakes. The agreement is a model for a binational and ecosystem-based approach to water quality management. Emerging issues, including aquatic invasive species, nutrient and chemical pollution, habitat and species loss, and climate change, were incorporated into a new version of the agreement in 2012. The amendment outlines a number of activities that will hold the U.S.
and Canada accountable for progress in improving Great Lakes water quality. These measures include: The value of the Great Lakes goes far beyond their economic importance in terms of commercial navigation on these waterways. Overall, the Great Lakes — Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario — are a valuable source of drinking water, recreation, fishing, manufacturing, forestry, agriculture, mining, energy and tourism; Individually, its coastlines are home to major metropolises and an abundance of parks for residents and visitors alike. Together with Canada, the lakes form the largest surface freshwater system on Earth, containing 84% of North America`s surface freshwater and stretching more than 750 miles from west to east. On the American side, the lakes affect eight states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. In Canada, the province of Ontario shares a coastline with Huron, Erie, Superior and Ontario. The United States and Canada first signed the agreement in 1972. It was amended in 1983 and 1987. In 2012, it was updated to improve water quality programs that ensure the « chemical, physical and biological integrity » of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Executive Committee (GLMC) serves as a forum to advise and assist the Parties in coordinating, implementing, reviewing and reporting on programs, practices and measures that support the implementation of the CWQA. The GLEC, which is jointly led by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency, includes high-level representatives from federal, state and provincial governments, tribal governments, First Nations, Métis, local governments, watershed management agencies and other local public agencies. A formal committee structure has also been set up to involve GLEC member organisations in binational work to develop and implement measures to meet commitments for each of the ten thematic areas identified in glwQA. In previous versions of the agreement, the IJC was required to report every two years on the progress made by Canada and the United States in restoring and protecting the lakes. It held biennial meetings to find out whether citizens – including those from non-governmental organizations, government agencies, universities and indigenous communities – felt that the lakes were improving or getting worse, and combined these contributions with its own assessments to publish reports every two years, the last of which was published in April 2013. This 16. The biennial report contained more than 40 recommendations on the new version of the 2012 agreement. The Great Lakes and associated tributaries are important sources of drinking water and are important to the region`s ecosystems, commercial areas and recreational activities. The main threats to water quality in the Great Lakes include toxins, pollution and harmful algae, all of which can be exacerbated by the onset of climate change and have negative effects on human health and ecosystems. For example, temperature changes can affect the toxicity of certain chemicals and/or interact with nutrient pollution to improve algal blooms. The 1987 GlWQA Protocol amended Annex 16 and required progress reports from 1988 onwards (USEPA, 1988).
The 2012 Protocol included a new Annex 8 to treat groundwater more holistically (Environment 2 Canada, 2013b). I of this report). In return, this subcommittee hired a task force to prepare this report (listed on the list of authors for each chapter). This report addresses all four of the above objectives and is based on a compilation of « relevant and available groundwater science ». In particular, the second objective (the « Contaminant Analysis ») will be addressed by including information obtained through the ongoing monitoring and research activities of the Parties and various other members of the Great Lakes Executive Committee. Gregg, R.M. (2012). Addressing Climate Change Impacts in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement [Case study on a project of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the Canadian Department of the Environment]. Product of EcoAdapt`s adaptation program. CAKE Extract: www.cakex.org/case-studies/addressing-climate-change-impacts-great-lake. (Last updated October 2012) The agreement was modernized in 2012 to reflect new evidence and address all issues related to Great Lakes water quality and ecosystem health.
Approaches to environmental management and our understanding of the ecosystem have evolved since the agreement was last amended in 1987. The 2012 agreement reflects this progress by focusing on coastal water quality and adaptive management approaches. Through the Agreement, Canada and the United States (the Parties) commit to work towards a number of general and specific objectives relating to the quality of the waters of the Great Lakes […].