Integrated watershed management in the Bow River basin, Alberta: experiences, challenges, and lessons learned

Stewart, Judy; Bennett, Mark K.

doi:10.4324/9780429504181-9

Cited by 4 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…The Calgary Metropolitan Area is a semi-arid social-spatial region of approximately 17,000 km 2 located in the Bow River Watershed (the Watershed) in southern Alberta, Canada (the Calgary Region) [1], [2]. The cumulative negative effects on the Watershed's ecosystem as a result of years of rapid population and economic growth in the oil and gas industry are of concern to the Government of Alberta (GOA), local municipalities and private stakeholders [1]- [6]. Water scarcity limits growth [1], [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cumulative negative effects on the Watershed's ecosystem as a result of years of rapid population and economic growth in the oil and gas industry are of concern to the Government of Alberta (GOA), local municipalities and private stakeholders [1]- [6]. Water scarcity limits growth [1], [6]. Qualitative research and social network analysis conducted between 2014 and 2016 explored how municipalities in the Watershed were addressing cross-scalar intermunicipal environmental and watershed management issues through intermunicipal collaboration or as stakeholders participating in environmental governance networks (EGN) [4], [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 1992, the predecessor of the Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) [4], [6] was formed as a multi-sectoral advisory body to the GOA to address emerging water quality issues in the Watershed. Council members were originally appointed to BRBC by Order of the Minister of Environment [6]. BRBC's geo-political boundaries included the lands, the people and their complex, dynamic interactions in the Watershed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BRBC's geo-political boundaries included the lands, the people and their complex, dynamic interactions in the Watershed. Over time, BRBC emerged as a voluntary, self-organizing and self-regulating multi-stakeholder EGN of self-appointed stakeholders from the GOA, municipalities, industry, academia, non-government organizations, and the public [6]. BRBC's network expands and contracts over time depending on the complexity of issues affecting sectoral interests in the Watershed [4], [6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…BRBC eventually formalized as a charitable society to address intermunicipal water quality and quantity, water scarcity, and watershed management issues not addressed by the GOA or municipalities [4]- [6]. In 2004, BRBC was recognized as Alberta's first Watershed Planning and Advisory Council (WPAC) in Alberta, and is an integral partner in implementing Water For Life: Alberta's Strategy for Sustainability (Water For Life) in the Watershed [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the Role of Environmental Governance Networks in Watershed Governance and Management

Stewart

Tyler

2019

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) functions as both an environmental governance network (EGN) and a bridging organization for watershed management in the Calgary region of southwestern Alberta, Canada. BRBC's structure and function are examined to understand its role in inter-jurisdictional, cross-sectoral watershed management. EGNs such as BRBC emerge in complex social-ecological systems, and influence policy development and municipal participation in watershed management activities, manage information flows, and close functional cross-scalar "gaps" in government policy and regulation. Self-selecting and voluntary, BRBC stakeholders reflect multiple and sometimes competing sectoral interests in water and watershed management. EGNs such as BRBC may be structured to function as bridging organizations, brokering between actors in the watershed to achieve common watershed management objectives. The BRBC performs valuable functions for social learning, co-creation of knowledge, and collaborative and adaptive watershed management planning. Reflexive legal processes may provide the necessary procedural mechanisms to legitimize BRBC's decision-making processes and co-created watershed management plans.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Understanding the Role of Environmental Governance Networks in Watershed Governance and Management

Stewart

Tyler

2019

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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Relationships between borders, management agencies, and the likelihood of watershed impairment

et al. 2018

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In the United States, the Clean Water Act (CWA) establishes water quality standards important for maintaining healthy freshwater ecosystems. Within the CWA framework, states define their own water quality criteria, leading to a potential fragmentation of standards between states. This fragmentation can influence the management of shared water resources and produce spillover effects of pollutants crossing state lines and other political boundaries. We used numerical simulations to test the null prediction of no difference in impairment between watersheds that cross political boundaries (i.e. state lines, national or coastal borders, hereafter termed “transboundary”) and watersheds that cross no boundaries (hereafter “internal”). We found that transboundary watersheds are more likely to be impaired than internal watersheds. Further, we examined possible causes for this relationship based on both geographic and sociopolitical drivers. Though geographic variables such as human-modified land cover and the amount of upstream catchment area are associated with watershed impairment, the number and type of agencies managing land within a watershed better explained the different impairment levels between transboundary and internal watersheds. Watersheds primarily consisting of public lands are less impaired than watersheds consisting of private lands. Similarly, watersheds primarily managed by federal agencies are less impaired than state-managed watersheds. Our results highlight the importance of considering Integrated Watershed Management strategies for water resources within a fragmented policy framework.

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Critical Role of Bridging Organizations in River Basin Management in Alberta, Canada

Stewart

2019

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment

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The paper examines bridging and brokerage functions performed by a Canadian watershed-scale bridging organization in Alberta's watershed governance and management system. The Bow River Basin Council (BRBC), a multi-stakeholder bridging organization in the Bow River Basin in southern Alberta, Canada, provides the demonstration context for exploring concepts of bridging organizations and their evolving roles. BRBC performs strategic bridging functions that connect and engage crosssectoral public and private stakeholders who otherwise would not be included in watershed governance or management decision-making processes. BRBC operates at the watershed-scale and plays critical roles as a strategic broker of information, knowledge, values, and power and influence in the region. BRBC provides venues for stakeholder collaboration to resolve complex watershed management problems where solutions are reached by consensus. Stakeholders work together to identify shared community values and issues of common concern. BRBC builds trust relationships, co-generates crosssectoral knowledge, and facilitates social learning to help resolve stakeholder conflicts over the use and management of scarce water resources in the Bow River Basin.

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Integrated watershed management in the Bow River basin, Alberta: experiences, challenges, and lessons learned

Cited by 4 publications

References 0 publications

Understanding the Role of Environmental Governance Networks in Watershed Governance and Management

Understanding the Role of Environmental Governance Networks in Watershed Governance and Management

Relationships between borders, management agencies, and the likelihood of watershed impairment

Critical Role of Bridging Organizations in River Basin Management in Alberta, Canada

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