Numerous treaties and management strategies have been created in an attempt to either prevent or repair water-related problems and/or disputes involving the worlds 263 trans- boundary freshwater regimes. Canada and the U.S. are no different. However, modern times have not only revealed potentially new causes for trans-boundary water-related disputes, but weaknesses within the tools commonly used to address such disputes.
Research was conducted using key groups and government departments within both Minnesota and North Dakota in an attempt to identify whether or not the economic, legal and social landscapes of the two states were favourable to reduce the nutrient loading to their portion of the Red River Drainage Basin which inevitably flows in Manitoba and enters Lake Winnipeg. The research revealed that; i) the difficulty of addressing NPS pollution, ii) a lack of cooperation from private landowners, iii) anti-government intervention, iv) a lack of funding for NPS related programs, v) uncertainties with the science, vi) negative economic impacts of implementing solutions, vii) interference by special interest groups and viii) legislative weaknesses of the Clean Water Act all create barriers that make achieving meaningful nutrient reductions unlikely.
Due to these barriers, Minnesota’s and North Dakota’s hydro-hegemonic influence on nutrient levels within the Red River may aid in dictating potentially disastrous ecological conditions to Lake Winnipeg and place its long-term health in question.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:MANITOBA/oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/24314 |
| Date | 27 October 2014 |
| Creators | Dettman, Mark |
| Contributors | Henley, Thomas (NRI) Sinclair, John (NRI), Koper, Nikki (NRI) Goldsborough, Gordon (Biological Sciences) Brandson, Norm |
| Source Sets | University of Manitoba Canada |
| Detected Language | English |
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