Protecting the Great Lakes, bit by bit
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007written and researched by Jan Triska, Greenerpolitics correspondent
When one looks at the map of North America, one of the most prominent geographical and hydrological features are the five vast Lakes that sit on the US-Canada boundary. Bounded by the Canadian Shield in the north and by agricultural lands and many an industrial cityscape in the south and seath-east, these inland seas are a massive reservoir of water and aquatic ecology. They are the ‘Blue Lungs’ of North America, just like the boreal forest has been called the green lungs of our continent. They have also been in the news many times for all the wrong reasons- invasive species, toxic pollution levels, ships dumping blast water and oil. Protecting the Great Lakes and improving the science and data collection on this huge region is a tall order. But, in an international effort that is rare in the world, the Canadians and Americans have had a process to keep up with the various developments - and to ensure the Great Lakes will be handed down the next generations in better shape than thus far.
The Great Lakes Regional Collaboration (GLRC) is a massive effort by governments and other stakeholders. All the US states bordering on the watershed - 11 of them in all, plus Ontario and Quebec, are involved. More than 1500 people were involved in brining about the 2005 Great Lakes Strategy; political leaders, scientists, NGO staff, regulators, biologists and transportation specialists, fishermen and fisheries experts and ordinary citizens from both sides of the border. The GLRC is a kind of a unique animal from an admininstrative viewpoint; nowhere else in the world does one find a similar environmentally-driven institution with similar resources at its command.
The GLRC works in several key areas - invasive species, toxic substances, fisheries, coastal health, indicator development and data gathering, and sustainable development. It is a vast collaborative effort. And, as if to prove that environmental improvements sometimes come from unlikely political sources, the impetus for GLRC’s work came from none other than President George W. Bush when he’d signed a Presidential Executive Order (in May 2004), thereby declaring the lakes a ‘national treasure’ and directing the US state governments to work with regional leaders on strengthening the environmental protection measures.
To read more about some of the work of GLRC and the specific projects they are championing, go to:
