The importance of Canada’s freshwater supply has spurred the creation of a National Freshwater Science Agenda.
Shawn Marshall is an Environment and Climate Change Canada researcher involved in the compilation of the document. He says the teams spoke to over 800 experts from across the country to create a vision for freshwater science data in Canada. A few of the six key priorities identified in engagement talks include water availability, biodiversity, land use stressors, and water pollution.
Marshall says under each of the priorities are a list of activities and recommendations, such as a need to better understand water supply and management in the prairies, water use for agricultural purposes, and flood-drought cycle resilience.
“Maybe it’s ironic, but it’s not unusual, that in drought-prone, arid regions like the southern prairie provinces there’s also flood risk often,” he explains. “Weather extremes came up a lot across the whole country including the prairies.”
Marshall emphasizes that the document is not only aimed at the federal government, but local governments, universities, and the general public could learn from it, as well.
“We’re hoping that individual researchers will refer to it when purposing their projects, will maybe even design their projects around some of the priority activities that were identified. So, we’re hoping it will shape what gets proposed and what gets funded.”
