Michael A. ReuterDirector, N.A. Freshwater Program & Great Rivers

Partnershipwww.nature.org/greatrivers

mreuter@tnc.org

America’s Great

WatershedCharting a Course for Sustainability in the

Mississippi River Watershed

Big River Works ● New Orleans ● May 31, 2012

Climate

Food

Energy

Water

America’s Great Watershed: A Foundation for the U.S. Economy – and our quality of life

>50% of nation’swater footprint

Vital ports andtransportation

92% of nation’sannual agricultural exports (worth $54 billion)

Vibrant fishing and seafood industry Outdoor recreation

How Did We Get Here?

Ideas, Choices, Commitments Mississippi River and

Tributaries Project Inland Waterway System Agricultural and Rural

Development Programs Environmental Protection

The Imperatives of “Our Time”Systemic and cross-sector Demand driving water

scarcity in >50% of states Floods impacting national

economy, communities Aging infrastructure

affecting water supply, sanitation, transportation

+200% demand for ag products driving risks to water quality, quantity

There are not many rivers, one for each of us, but only this one river, and if we all want to stay here,

in some kind of relation to the river, then we have to learn, somehow, to live together.

From Daniel Kemmis. Community and the Politics of Place. Univ. of Oklahoma Press. Norman, 1990

“Efforts to sustain the Mississippi River system will require a unified vision and intergenerational commitment to realize that vision.”

Where Do We Go From Here?

America’s Great Watershed InitiativeSteering Committee

AGWI Survey (2010): Stakeholder Expectations Need shared vision for the Mississippi River Basin

that encompasses the whole system in an integrated way, includes ecological, social, and economic factors, and leads to commonly accepted priorities

Need more effective institutional structure[s] to coordinate management of the river and turn the vision into reality

Need institutional arrangements that break down the many unresponsive, unconnected silos

Overcome complexity by linking together disparate pieces rather than creating comprehensive structure that reaches across the whole basin

America’s Inner Coast Summit

A Unique Gathering 117 Participants

―76 Organizations―20 States

Work Groups―Vision―Stakeholders―Communications―Science―Projects

More Info: http://www.conference.ifas.ufl.edu/AICS/

Focus on Sustainability and Collaboration―Navigation, Flood Control, Cultural and Social

Resources, Environment

Major General Michael Walsh

Key Outcomes

Build recognition of watershed importance and need for integrated management

Establish an enduring, public-private facilitating entity to connect institutions, stakeholders

Measure progress toward sustainable management

Elevate local and regional projects that demonstrate effective collaboration toward system-level objectives

Network with river commissions and similar entities in North America and globally

Vision without execution is hallucination.

– Thomas Edison

Developing Indicators ofProgress

Toward Watershed Health Navigation Infrastructure Flood Risk Agriculture Recreation Water Quantity & Quality Habitat Connectivity Biodiversity Wastewater

Toward Collaborative IRBM Integration Scale Timing (Sequencing) Participation Capacity

AGWI SummitSept. 26-27, 2012Saint Louis

The Danube River CommissionMost International River Basin in the World 19 countries 81 million inhabitants

UNEP Report Deems Water Reforms Successful15 May 2012 - 15:35 by OOSKAnews Correspondentnairobi, Kenya — Countries that have adopted internationally-agreed approaches to integrated water resources management (IWRM) in many cases enjoyed significant benefits, particularly in potable water access, health and water efficiency in agriculture, according to a survey released this month by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

Over 80 percent of the 130-plus countries surveyed have reformed their water laws over the past 20 years in response to pressure on resources from growing populations, urbanization and climate change, UNEP said.Around 90 percent of countries reported positive impacts after introducing IWRM reforms…

Economic Benefits of Integrated Management

Great Rivers Partnership“Great Rivers That Work for People and Nature”

Zambezi River

Yangtze River

Paraguay-Parana Rivers

Mississippi River

Magdalena River

The mission of the Great Rivers

Partnership is to bring together diverse

partners and best science to expand

options for achieving the sustainable

management and development of the

world’s Great Rivers and their basins. We seek shared solutions to common land- and water-use dilemmas,

recognizing the inescapable linkages

that connect our economy, human well-being and ecosystem

sustainability.

Tapajos (Amazon) River

Great Rivers Partnership“Great Rivers That Work for People and Nature”

“We will be known by the tracks we leave.”

— Dakota Proverb

AGWI SummitSept. 26-27, 2012Saint Louis