The International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Water Innovation Centre (WIC) has issued a synthesis report that captures the consensus reached at the recent Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit in Winnipeg, held in early December.
The report sets out the guiding principles for creating opportunities to reduce nutrient loadings in the lake basin and building a process for achieving a vision for the future.
In January 2011, the Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit steering committee recommended to IISD that it build on the momentum and goodwill generated at the summit and pursue a work program oriented towards the focus question of the summit—how to create economic opportunities for Manitoba while reducing nutrient loading within the Lake Winnipeg Basin.
“Nothing is more important than the quality of our water,” said Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger. “The Province of Manitoba is pleased to support IISD and would like to thank them for taking on the important role of moving a Lake Winnipeg action plan forward.”
Franz Tattenbach
IISD president and CEO Franz Tattenbach said, “No organization or government can tackle the problem alone and we are proud to have been entrusted by the participants to facilitate the development of a five-year action plan that incorporates innovative approaches and economic benefits for Manitoba.”
WIC director Henry David (Hank) Venema said, “At the end of the summit, we felt a great sense of optimism and common purpose in the room but it was when we dug into the details of the discussion and the vision statements that we realized the participants really expect the full sustainable development package—environmental, social and economic integration.”
The synthesis report and video proceedings of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Summit held on
November 30 and December 1, 2010 are available at the following links: http://www.iisd.org/pdf/2011/summit_2010_synthesis.pdf
http://www.iisd.org/wic/summit_2010.aspx
For more information, please contact Nona Pelletier, media and communications officer, IISD
Phone +1 204 958-7740 Cell: +1 204 962-1303 mailto:[email protected].
About the International Institute for Sustainable Development
The world is challenged by a changing climate, biodiversity loss, abject poverty and environmental degradation. What can make a difference? Good ideas. Creativity. Passion. Innovation. The achievement of change.
IISD is in the business of promoting change towards sustainable development. As a policy research institute dedicated to effective communication of our findings, we engage decision-makers in government, business, NGOs and other sectors in the development and implementation of policies that are simultaneously beneficial to the global economy, the global environment and to social well-being.
In the pursuit of sustainable development, we promote open and effective international negotiation processes. And we believe fervently in the importance of building our own institutional capacity while helping our partner organizations in the developing world to excel.
Established in 1990, IISD is a Canadian-based not-for-profit organization with a diverse team of more than 150 people located in more than 30 countries. Through our dynamic portfolio of projects, we partner with more than 200 organizations throughout the world. To learn more about our history, please visit the IISD Timeline.
Click here to learn more about our project work and programs, which are guided by our strategic institutional directions. And please visit our IISD Linkages site to follow our coverage of international negotiations on environment and development.
IISD is registered as a charitable organization in Canada and has 501(c)(3) status in the United States. IISD receives core operating support from the Government of Canada, provided through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Environment Canada, and from the Province of Manitoba. The Institute receives project funding from numerous governments inside and outside Canada, United Nations agencies, foundations and the private sector.
