hank venema, iisd - water & agriculture

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The Watershed of the Future The Lake Winnipeg Bioeconomy Project

Agricultural NutrientsAgricultural NutrientsCultural Eutrophication &Cultural Eutrophication &Global Food SecurityGlobal Food Securitychanging the narrative to opportunity and changing the narrative to opportunity and innovationinnovation

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35%35%

32%32%14%14%

11%11%

8%8%

Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board 2006

67%2/3 of the of the MB

P load non-point watershed sources

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What you’ve seen on the newsWhat you’ve seen on the news

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Some of what you’ve seen on the newsSome of what you’ve seen on the news

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You may have seen this tooYou may have seen this too

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ADD BHP logo

Lake Winnipeg Regional DiagnosisLake Winnipeg Regional Diagnosis• Very difficult – perhaps intractable

conventional environmental management problem involving interaction physical, cultural and historical forces.

• More difficult than Lake Erie clean-up in the 1970s (~$15B ), which largely involved regulating several hundred point sources

• But enormous opportunity if you can see the underlying systems dynamics – the noxious pollutant is actually a very strategic resource

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Bioeconomy: Strategy NeededBioeconomy: Strategy Needed

“... attentive and active support from governments and the public at large.

….need strategic thinking by governments and citizen support.”

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“... multiple problems interrelated in complex way requires a systematic approach....

….will require prospective scenario tools like backasting.”

Bioeconomy: Strategy NeededBioeconomy: Strategy Needed

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““How do we create and take advantage of How do we create and take advantage of opportunities for Manitoba’s economy while opportunities for Manitoba’s economy while reducing nutrient loading within the Lake Winnipeg reducing nutrient loading within the Lake Winnipeg Basin?”Basin?”

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Watershed of the Future Systems approach Systems approach Enabling PoliciesEnabling Policies Strategic InvestmentStrategic Investment Communications and OutreachCommunications and Outreach Innovative TechnologyInnovative Technology

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Land use in Southern MB

Agricultural Land in Southern MB

Watershed Processes

Opportunities for change

Farm Field

Shoreline/Riparian Biomass

Switchgrass (5m)

Alfalfa (5m)

Willow (15m)

Water Biomass Harvest

Strategic Use of Wetlands

• 250 Km2 Coastal Wetland on south shore of Lake Winnipeg

• Complex of shallow lakes, channels and wetland areas

• Red River passes through the marsh to the lake

• Significant P and N loads enter Lake Winnipeg via the Red River

• Netley-Libau Marsh is an important component of a Lake Winnipeg Basin management strategy

• Not currently functioning as a healthy coastal wetland

Netley-Libau Marsh

Cattail biomass harvestingSpring harvest

Summer harvest

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CapturedP N C …

Exported P N C … P

ASH Recovery

Cattail Biomass Pellets for fuel Bioenergy – Heat

Innovative Technology – Netley-Libau Nutrient-Bioenergy Project

Biorefinery

AgricultureBMPs

Agriculture Biomass

Riparian Biomass

Aquatic Biomass

RestoredWetlands

ThrivingRural

Economies

Nutrients diverted from watershed to biorefinery

Water storage

BiodiversityRecreationWater storage

Food Provision

Drought Mitigation

Flood Protection

Cultural

ReducedNutrients

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Phosphorous Application and RemovalTonnes

Bioeconomy Revenue$B

Feedback: Vision Statements

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•Pilot Projects• Netley

•R&D priorities - biorefinery

•Investment

•Partnerships• Producer• Provincial• Federal• Municipal• University

Pillar 2 Innovation And Investment • Community

• Public

• Government

• Conventional Media

• Social Media

Pillar 3 Communication

• Planning

• Regulation

• Institutional

• Research and Development

• Innovation

• Investment

Pillar 4 PolicyDevelopment•Vision

•Geographic and Economic Analysis

•Planning Priorities

•Timelines

Pillar 1 Strategy

Partnerships