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Big River Works ● New Orleans ● May 31, 2012. America’s Great Watershed Charting a Course for Sustainability in the Mississippi River Watershed. Michael A. Reuter Director, N.A. Freshwater Program & Great Rivers Partnership www.nature.org/greatrivers [email protected]. Climate. Energy. Food. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Michael A. ReuterDirector, N.A. Freshwater Program & Great Rivers
Partnershipwww.nature.org/greatrivers
America’s Great
WatershedCharting a Course for Sustainability in the
Mississippi River Watershed
Big River Works ● New Orleans ● May 31, 2012
Climate
Food
Energy
Water
America’s Great Watershed: A Foundation for the U.S. Economy – and our quality of life
>50% of nation’swater footprint
Vital ports andtransportation
92% of nation’sannual agricultural exports (worth $54 billion)
Vibrant fishing and seafood industry Outdoor recreation
How Did We Get Here?
Ideas, Choices, Commitments Mississippi River and
Tributaries Project Inland Waterway System Agricultural and Rural
Development Programs Environmental Protection
The Imperatives of “Our Time”Systemic and cross-sector Demand driving water
scarcity in >50% of states Floods impacting national
economy, communities Aging infrastructure
affecting water supply, sanitation, transportation
+200% demand for ag products driving risks to water quality, quantity
There are not many rivers, one for each of us, but only this one river, and if we all want to stay here,
in some kind of relation to the river, then we have to learn, somehow, to live together.
From Daniel Kemmis. Community and the Politics of Place. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman, 1990
“Efforts to sustain the Mississippi River system will require a unified vision and intergenerational commitment to realize that vision.”
Where Do We Go From Here?
America’s Great Watershed InitiativeSteering Committee
AGWI Survey (2010): Stakeholder Expectations Need shared vision for the Mississippi River Basin
that encompasses the whole system in an integrated way, includes ecological, social, and economic factors, and leads to commonly accepted priorities
Need more effective institutional structure[s] to coordinate management of the river and turn the vision into reality
Need institutional arrangements that break down the many unresponsive, unconnected silos
Overcome complexity by linking together disparate pieces rather than creating comprehensive structure that reaches across the whole basin
America’s Inner Coast Summit
A Unique Gathering 117 Participants
―76 Organizations―20 States
Work Groups―Vision―Stakeholders―Communications―Science―Projects
More Info: http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/AICS/
Focus on Sustainability and Collaboration―Navigation, Flood Control, Cultural and Social
Resources, Environment
Major General Michael Walsh
Key Outcomes
Build recognition of watershed importance and need for integrated management
Establish an enduring, public-private facilitating entity to connect institutions, stakeholders
Measure progress toward sustainable management
Elevate local and regional projects that demonstrate effective collaboration toward system-level objectives
Network with river commissions and similar entities in North America and globally
Vision without execution is hallucination.
– Thomas Edison
Developing Indicators ofProgress
Toward Watershed Health Navigation Infrastructure Flood Risk Agriculture Recreation Water Quantity & Quality Habitat Connectivity Biodiversity Wastewater
Toward Collaborative IRBM Integration Scale Timing (Sequencing) Participation Capacity
AGWI SummitSept. 26-27, 2012Saint Louis
The Danube River CommissionMost International River Basin in the World 19 countries 81 million inhabitants
UNEP Report Deems Water Reforms Successful15 May 2012 - 15:35 by OOSKAnews Correspondentnairobi, Kenya — Countries that have adopted internationally-agreed approaches to integrated water resources management (IWRM) in many cases enjoyed significant benefits, particularly in potable water access, health and water efficiency in agriculture, according to a survey released this month by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Over 80 percent of the 130-plus countries surveyed have reformed their water laws over the past 20 years in response to pressure on resources from growing populations, urbanization and climate change, UNEP said.Around 90 percent of countries reported positive impacts after introducing IWRM reforms…
Economic Benefits of Integrated Management
Great Rivers Partnership“Great Rivers That Work for People and Nature”
Zambezi River
Yangtze River
Paraguay-Parana Rivers
Mississippi River
Magdalena River
The mission of the Great Rivers
Partnership is to bring together diverse
partners and best science to expand
options for achieving the sustainable
management and development of the
world’s Great Rivers and their basins. We seek shared solutions to common land- and water-use dilemmas,
recognizing the inescapable linkages
that connect our economy, human well-being and ecosystem
sustainability.
Tapajos (Amazon) River
Great Rivers Partnership“Great Rivers That Work for People and Nature”
“We will be known by the tracks we leave.”
— Dakota Proverb
AGWI SummitSept. 26-27, 2012Saint Louis