Through the Science Annex of the 2012 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, Canada and the United States have committed to:
“…contribute to the achievement of the General and Specific Objectives of this Agreement by enhancing the coordination, integration, synthesis, and assessment of science activities. Science, including monitoring, surveillance, observation, research, and modeling, may be supplemented by other bodies of knowledge, such as traditional ecological knowledge.”
Canada and the United States agree to foster coordination and collaboration of scientific efforts by:
For additional information on the focus of actions under this Annex, consult the current Priorities for Science and Action. The Priorities are based on an evaluation of the State of the Great Lakes, with input from the Great Lakes Executive Committee, participants at the Great Lakes Public Forum, and recommendations of the International Joint Commission.
Every six months, progress on this annex is reported at the Great Lakes Executive Committee meetings. Accomplishments will be described in the Progress Report of the Parties every three years, with the first expected in 2016.
This annex is being implemented by a subcommittee co-led by Environment and Climate Change Canada and the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Member organizations include:
An extended subcommittee involves additional organizations and experts beyond the GLEC membership.
As required, time-limited task teams can also be created to focus efforts on a priority issue or project, and will be disbanded when work is complete. Currently, the Science Annex subcommittee has task teams that focus on:
Task Team | Purpose |
---|---|
Cooperative Science and Monitoring | Provide guidance and facilitate science and monitoring activities binationally to assist the Annexes in meeting the commitments of their Workplans. Coordinate a 5-year rotational cycle of intensive research and monitoring focusing on each lake in rotation. |
Ecosystem Indicators and Reporting | Provide guidance on the selection of indicators to use for reporting on the state of the Great Lakes and to facilitate indicator review, revision and/or development as well as support indicator reporting where possible. |
Traditional Ecological Knowledge | Provide an opportunity for both Indigenous and Western knowledge to contribute to science in support of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. While the Task Team will report under Annex 10, there is an expectation that the blend of Indigenous and Western knowledge will be of significant value to many of the other Annexes as well. |