National Freshwater Science Agenda (NFSA) – Agriculture’s Water Priorities
Background.
Effective freshwater protection and management depends on a solid foundation of science to inform and strengthen evidence-based decision-making. An identified need with the formal creation of the new Canada Water Agency (CWA) in November 2024 was to prioritize, align and enhance the coordination of freshwater science and knowledge in Canada to better inform decisions and policy to protect Canada’s freshwater resource. In response to this need, ECCC’s Science and Technology Branch (STB) embarked on leading the development of a National Freshwater Science Agenda (NFSA) (attached), in coordination with the CWA.
A Synthesis of Freshwater Science in Canada was produced which identified 25 key freshwater topics, challenges, and issues facing Canada. This Synthesis provided an overview on the current state of freshwater science and identified key knowledge gaps, prompting a broader discussion on the priorities of the NFSA. In addition, ECCC conducted a national, cross institutional-sectoral survey to further inform the NFSA. It was recognized that the NFSA was to be National in scope, but responsive to regional challenges and span the natural, physical, and social sciences that underpin the understanding of the stressors, impacts and solutions to environmental and freshwater ecosystem health. In addition, the NFSA was to provide the roadmap to support the social, economic, and health disciplines that guide and inform freshwater resource management across Canada.
Workshop Objective.
Building from the Synthesis and the ECCC Survey results, the objective of the workshop is to have a focused discussion with agricultural producers and service providers, policy makers and academic researchers on the most pressing freshwater challenges and research gaps related to the needs of the Agricultural sector in Canada. Through a series of inter-related breakout sessions, you will help identify agricultural-related freshwater science priorities and needs, knowledge synthesis and mobilization opportunities. The workshop outcomes will further guide the federal science and knowledge providers to ensure that the current state of knowledge and understanding is available to decision makers to address the most pressing freshwater challenges facing the Ag-sector in Canada. It will also identify key knowledge gaps where additional research efforts may be needed.
A workshop summary report will be provided to ECCC capturing the key findings and recommendations from the workshop participants.
Key Questions to be Discussed.
Does the NFSA Survey and Synthesis capture the breadth of research issues/priorities pertinent to the Agriculture Sector?
What other current and emerging areas/issues are missing?
What are overall the top 3-5 priority research areas that need to be addressed?
Are there other researchers/policy related decision makers that should be engaged in the process that are missing?
This event consists of two sessions, and participants are welcome to register for one or both.
March 12th (4:30 – 8:00 PM): Cocktail Reception featuring keynote speeches from
• Dr. Mark Redmond, President and CEO, RDAR
• Dr. Corinne Schuster-Wallace, Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan, and Executive Director, Global Institute for Water Security.
March 13th (Full Day): Workshop kicked off by Ram Yerubandi, Research Manager, Water Science and Technology, Environment and Climate Change Canada.
The workshop will include breakout sessions to dive into critical research areas, gaps, and collaboration opportunities.