6. Recommendations and management responses

The following recommendations are addressed to the ADM, Strategic Policy Branch, as the senior departmental official responsible for the management of the LWBI.

Recommendation 1:  Focus efforts on expanding the base of knowledge and improving dissemination to stakeholders regarding: i) the nutrient management practices likely to have the greatest impact; and ii) the impacts of emerging factors such as invasive species, climate change and nutrient cycling.

The evaluation evidence indicates that while the LWBI is contributing to nutrient reductions, program efforts alone will not lead to meaningful nutrient loading reductions in Lake Winnipeg. Science and engagement efforts remain important to support broad take-up of proven interventions. The evaluation points to a lack of sufficient evidence to understand the effectiveness of management practices in the Lake Winnipeg Basin and optimize nutrient reductions. Therefore, it is recommended that investments in science and stewardship focus more intensively on increasing the knowledge base on the effectiveness of promising nutrient management practices and that knowledge transfer through outreach and education be prioritized to enable other organizations in the basin (e.g., conservation districts, municipalities, land owners) to incorporate these proven practices. Additionally, a need was identified to better understand the impacts of emerging and evolving factors such as invasive species, climate change and nutrient cycling on the Lake Winnipeg Basin’s complex ecosystem. The priorities and work plans of the LWBI pillars should be informed by these factors and responsive to changing conditions.

The ADM of SPB agrees with the recommendation.

Management action

The proposed approach to respond is for additional science to conduct research on the sources, transport and fate of nutrients in several high-impact sub-watersheds in the Lake Winnipeg Basin in order to improve understanding of what management practices are best for reducing nutrient loading in watercourses in northern prairie landscapes. Where possible, collaborative research with other stakeholders and levels of government will be conducted.

In addition, scientific research, modelling and monitoring will be conducted to better understand the impacts of invasive species, climate change and other emerging issues on the ecological health of Lake Winnipeg and its watershed. ECCC will also provide targeted G&C funding to academic researchers for studies on emerging water quality contaminants in the Lake Winnipeg basin to complement ECCC research efforts.

The proposed approach for stewardship is to provide targeted G&C funding to academic researchers for studies on the effectiveness of nutrient reducing Best Management Practices in northern prairie landscapes. Those studies will complement, and not duplicate, ECCC research efforts and will be encouraged to have an education/outreach component about proven nutrient reducing practices.

A plan will be developed to promote knowledge transfer on proven nutrient reduction practices through use of webinars, online publishing of the State of Lake Winnipeg reports and Indicator series, and regular Lake Winnipeg Basin Symposiums. Information and knowledge transfer will continue through ongoing participation in established governance forums.

Government of Canada funding has been announced for the Lake Winnipeg program (2017-2022) through Budget 2017.  An important component of the proposed program is the development of an Lake Winnipeg Adaptive Management Framework for Lake Winnipeg, in collaboration with the Province of Manitoba and other stakeholders, which will assess the effectiveness of management decisions intended to mitigate the effects of nutrient loading and multiple ecological stressors such as invasive species and climate change.

Recommendation 2:  Review the program’s design and expected outcomes to ensure that they are consistent and demonstrate that the program’s activities make a reasonable contribution to achieving final outcomes.

While the current LWBI design is generally consistent with program objectives, an apparent discrepancy was identified between the program’s design and its intended outcomes as presented in the program’s logic model. The current program design does not deliver significant actions related to the key intermediate outcome of reduced nutrient loadings. Furthermore, the two other identified intermediate outcomes (which relate to establishing nutrient objectives) are also not likely in their own right to lead to the program’s final outcomes. Both the program’s design and its stated expected outcomes should be reviewed and reconciled.

The ADM of SPB agrees with the recommendation.

Management action

While the program in this Phase did meet and exceed its identified targets with respect to demonstrating measureable nutrient reductions through individual on the ground projects, it is acknowledged that this was articulated as a numerical value at a project scale. When this was compared to basin-levels of nutrients, the overall impact of nutrient reduction attributed to the program appears minimal. In order to address this moving forward, the program design and logic model will be updated to fully reflect the desired results of the program in contributing to nutrient reduction efforts in the Lake Winnipeg Basin through project activities as well as through collaboration with stakeholders and partners.

At the program level, the Lake Winnipeg Basin Office will update the Lake Winnipeg program performance management framework and use this information to inform the Lake Winnipeg component of the Ecosystem Partnerships Program Logic Model and the Program Performance Information Profile (PIP) for the Freshwater Action Plan (2017-2022).

At the departmental level, the Associate Regional Director General Office, West and North, will continue to work with Corporate Management Directorate in the development of the Ecosystem Partnerships Program Logic Model and the Program Performance Information Profile (PIP) for the Freshwater Action Plan (2017-2022) which includes the Lake Winnipeg program. The Evaluation Recommendation for Phase II of the Lake Winnipeg Basin Initiative will guide the development of the Logic Model and PIP.

Program outcomes will reflect the scope and magnitude of the Lake Winnipeg program authority and its funding envelope. With respect to Budget 2017, we will be including updated outcomes and indicators.

Recommendation 3:  Strengthen efforts to engage Indigenous groups and communities in stewardship and partnership activities.

Although efforts have been made recently to increase the participation of Indigenous communities, the level of engagement remains limited. Indigenous communities around Lake Winnipeg are not well-represented as funding recipients or partners in the LWBSF projects and have a limited presence in basin coordination mechanisms. As they are important stakeholders in the Lake Winnipeg Basin, it is recommended that the program build on preliminary work to engage these communities.

The ADM of SPB agrees with the recommendation.

Management action

ECCC will collaborate with other federal and provincial departments through the CA-MB Lake Winnipeg MOU Steering Committee to ensure that departmental Indigenous engagement efforts are inclusive and coordinated federally and provincially within Manitoba on the water quality issues facing Lake Winnipeg.

Government of Canada announced additional funding for the Lake Winnipeg program in Budget 2017 which will provide targeted G&C funding to increase the representation of Indigenous communities as funding recipients or partners in LWBSF projects and support Indigenous engagement in freshwater issues for First Nations communities surrounding Lake Winnipeg. ECCC will also support broader Indigenous engagement in freshwater issues for Indigenous organizations throughout the Lake Winnipeg Basin.

Recommendation 4:  Build on and advance early efforts to develop state of the lake indicators with the province of Manitoba.

The CA–MB MOU Science Subsidiary Arrangement included a commitment to develop State of the Lake Indicators and submit a report by 2016 on the status and trends in water quality and aquatic ecosystem health in the Lake Winnipeg Basin.  Appropriate indicators were to be adopted to monitor the environmental, social and economic factors of interest and allow nutrient objectives to be assessed. While some development of indicators has been initiated and a governance mechanism was recently established, the work is delayed and the commitment has not yet been met.  It is recommended that efforts be re-focused to ensure that this work advances, including aligning monitoring efforts to enable an assessment of changes in the indicators over time.

The ADM of SPB agrees with the recommendation.

Management action

Through the governance mechanism approved by the CA–MB MOU Steering Committee for reporting on the health of Lake Winnipeg and its basin, ECCC will collaborate with provincial colleagues and other stakeholders in the development and on-line publishing of a State of the Lake indicators series. The goal is to develop 2 to 3 indicator factsheets each year and update published indicator factsheets regularly, based on data availability.

ECCC will collaborate with provincial colleagues and other stakeholders in publishing a second Lake Winnipeg State of the Lake Report in 2018. That report will summarize the scientific knowledge of the lake, focusing on the period from 1999 to 2017. Like the first Lake Winnipeg State of the Lake Report which covered the time period from 1999 to 2007, the report will be available both as information highlight as well as an extended technical document.