Departmental Sustainable Development Strategy: Departmental Website Component of the 2012-2013 Report on Plans and Priorities

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund provides funding support for cost-shared projects to reduce nutrients across the Lake Winnipeg watershed. Projects are based throughout Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and encompass agricultural beneficial management practices, wetland and riparian restoration, and demonstration projects related to nutrient abatement.

Performance expectations:

• Seven or more contribution agreements developed for the Lake Winnipeg Basin Stewardship Fund in 2011–2012, for a total of 40 or more agreements implemented over the four-year lifespan of the Fund.

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI) is focused primarily on science, in order to understand the gaps related to ecology and nutrient cycling and the sources and transport mechanisms for nutrients. The purpose of the science program is to provide the data and information needed to inform the development of nutrient objectives for the lake, as well as performance indicators to assess the health of the lake and watershed.

Science projects and activities are currently underway on Lake Winnipeg and major sub basins, including the Red-Assiniboine and Winnipeg rivers, and Lake of the Woods, through the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative Science Plan.

Activities include studies to characterize the physical, chemical and biological nature of Lake Winnipeg, including nutrient dynamics; sediment surveys; dissolved oxygen studies; stable isotope analyses to fingerprint nutrients; food web analyses; remote sensing; water quality, climate and hydrodynamic modeling; and socio-economic analyses and case studies of ecological goods and services; and assessment of agricultural beneficial management practices for nutrient reduction.

Performance expectations:

• Information and research data will continue to be gathered and finalized throughout the 2011–2012 field season on Lake Winnipeg and in the watershed. A LWBI science synthesis/final report documenting science activities and findings will be compiled and published at the conclusion of the LWBI in March 2012.
• Information and data gathered through the LWBI science program will be provided to Manitoba and other decision makers following the conclusion of the LWBI in March 2012, to inform the development of appropriate nutrient objectives and performance indicators for Lake Winnipeg.

A key component to the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI) science program is the monitoring program. Water quality and biological monitoring occurs throughout the Lake and the watershed including a review of monitoring networks (location, timing and sampling protocols amongst agencies), and reservoir nutrient sequestration studies. Monitoring contributes to the scientific knowledge needed by all levels of government to make sound decisions on Lake Winnipeg’s health.

Performance expectations:

• Finalize recommendations to optimize water quality networks in the Lake Winnipeg Basin to maximize efficiencies for federal and provincial networks and share this information with partner agencies.
• Monitoring information and data from Lake Winnipeg and the watershed will continue to be gathered and finalized throughout the 2011–2012 field season and included in the LWBI science synthesis/final report to be completed and published at the end of the LWBI in March 2012.

Environment Canada is working with partners to develop and obtain data, and provide guidance on modeling standards, build online modeling capacity and to further refine the prototype portal to meet the needs of stakeholders and users.

Performance expectations:

• Continue to work with partners during 2011–2012 to develop and obtain data to populate the web portal and further refine modeling capacity.
• Long term external portal hosting opportunities will be finalized in order to maintain the portal after the conclusion of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI) in March 2012.

The Lake Winnipeg Basin Office was established to coordinate and oversee the three focus areas of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative (LWBI) (science, stewardship and facilitating governance). The office works with existing water governance bodies, and is engaged in exploring opportunities to cooperatively develop a basin-wide strategy or otherwise facilitate governance and coordinate activities amongst partners throughout the transboundary.

Performance expectations:

• The Lake Winnipeg Basin Office will continue to oversee and manage the three focus areas of the LWBI (governance, stewardship and science) during the final 2011–2012 year of the LWBI.
• Environment Canada will continue to participate on a number of other inter-provincial and international water, science and governance mechanisms to facilitate coordination of government and stakeholder efforts across the watershed.
• Evaluation of existing governance mechanisms will be completed and/or options for alternative models to facilitate integrated transboundary watershed management will be explored.

A five-year Canada–Manitoba Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Respecting Lake Winnipeg and the Lake Winnipeg Basin, developed under Section 4 of the Canada Water Act, was signed in September 2010. The MOU formalizes the commitment of both governments to a long-term, collaborative and coordinated approach to support the sustainability and health of the Lake Winnipeg Basin.

For further information about the LWBI, please visit EC’s website at Cleaning Up Lake Winnipeg.

Performance expectations

• Environment Canada will continue to co-chair the MOU steering committee, to oversee implementation of the MOU and provide oversight for the development of subsidiary arrangements in support of the MOU, including finalization of a science subsidiary arrangement in 2011–2012.