Objective 3: Advance Global Interests

Promote Environmental Stewardship

Promote Environmental Stewardship Facilitate Indigenous Peoples' Partnerships Advance Francophone Opportunities Facilitate International Development Strengthen Safety & Security

Environmental issues know no political boundary. All countries have a global responsibility to reduce their environmental impact and encourage others to do the same.

In this respect, the Province has set aside over 5.4 million hectares, or approximately 8.4% of Manitoba's area, as protected space. Manitobans understand that there is an obligation to protect Manitoba's natural heritage. The Protected Areas Initiative ensures representative examples of our diverse landscapes are maintained to:

• conserve biological diversity including natural gene pools;
• maintain ecological processes and the natural cycles required for life on earth;
• act as scientific benchmarks to evaluate environmental change; and
• balance development needs in a sustainable society.

Like Manitoba land, our lakes and rivers are resources that must be protected - to many, water is the "new gold." As the world experiences the effects of climate change and more nations endure hardship and drought, it is clear that our water resources cannot be taken for granted. Guardianship of watersheds and water is a responsibility we owe both to ourselves and to future generations, both at home and around the world.

The importance of the lakes and rivers that Manitoba shares with the United States cannot be overstated. The Province has taken a proactive approach to international and transboundary cooperation in order to protect the globe's greatest asset - the environment. Water features prominently in this equation.

In 2003, the Government of Manitoba created a Water Stewardship Department that brought together the areas of government dedicated to water protection and water management. The Water Protection Act was introduced in 2004 with a view to protection and stewardship of our water resources and aquatic ecosystems.

The Water Stewardship Department, in consultation with the Lake Winnipeg Stewardship Board, is paying special attention to Lake Winnipeg - our largest lake and an international destination for fishing, recreation and tourism. Lake Winnipeg is also a repository for watersheds that extend across the central plains of North America. The health of the Lake is an indicator of water protection efforts within and beyond our borders. A similar Stewardship Board will be formed for Lake Manitoba, our second largest lake.

Our environmental stewardship expertise extends well beyond watershed management. For example, the Province works with other jurisdictions, such as Mexico, in developing sustainable forestry techniques and has played a lead role in cross-border cooperation with the U.S. in fighting wildland fires. In 2003, Western Premiers and Western Governors signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Enhancing Cross-border Cooperation to Fight Wildland Fires. That document created a mechanism for coordinating fire management activities to maximize the use of available fire-fighting resources wherever they are most need in Western Canada and in Western U.S. states.

The Province is also involved in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Environmental Performance Review of Canada's environmental management systems by providing information (through the Government of Canada) on how Manitoba implements sustainable development concepts into decision-making.

The Province is also active in several transboundary organizations, such as the North American Waterfowl Management Plan (NAWMP) and is a signatory to the Prairie Habitat Joint Venture that oversees all activities in the Prairie Provinces related to the Plan. The federal governments of Canada and the U.S. and the governments of the Canadian provinces and the contiguous U.S. states are part of this arrangement. The Province is also an active member of the Canadian Wetlands/North America Bird Conservation Initiative (NABCI) Council and the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (IAFWA) Waterfowl Committee, comprised of federal, state/provincial and non-governmental organizations in Canada and the U.S.

In addition, the Province provides ongoing funding to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). The Institute promotes the principles and practices of sustainable development on a national and international basis. IISD was voted the most effective sustainable development research group in the World by its piers in the second half of 2004. The Province is pleased to see IISD's work validated by its piers, and is proud of its relationship with the Institute.

Strategic Actions

The Government of Manitoba will:

• Continue to cooperate with neighbouring jurisdictions to protect water quality from upstream developments, including participation in the activities of the International Joint Commission and other multi-jurisdictional task forces and committees such as the International Joint Commission's International Red River Board, and the Canada - United States Garrison Joint Technical Committee.

• Continue to coordinate the Province's opposition to North Dakota projects that would drain water, nutrients and foreign biota into the Red River. The Province's ultimate goal is to address water quality issues in a collaborative way, following the model of the Great Lakes Commission.

• Continue to work collaboratively within the Red River Basin Commission to achieve a basin-wide commitment to comprehensive integrated watershed stewardship and management.

• Explore the potential development of Greenway on the Red, a cross-border multi-use greenway, which will serve for flood mitigation as well as tourism and recreation. Greenway on the Red would run from Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba to Lake Traverse in South Dakota.

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