Opportunity for a New Age of Water Governance?
Excerpts: In 1961, the United States and Canada ratified the Columbia River Treaty - Either country can terminate the treaty, with 10 years written notice, on September 16, 2024 or later.
On both sides of the border, citizens and decision-makers are now working to decide the future of the 668,000 square kilometer Columbia Basin and this landmark international trans-boundary water treaty, whose significance reaches far beyond our borders to countries like Jordan and Palestine, as they negotiate over sharing of vanishingly small amounts of water.
The Columbia River is also home to one of the world’s largest salmon runs, with six different species traversing its length as they spawn, grow and return to their spawning grounds to repeat the cycle. Salmon populations have dropped drastically over the past century, in part due to development of dams that interrupt migration. All species on the river are important to biodiversity, but salmon have an irreplaceable cultural significance in the basin.
Lauren Klose
ACT Water Governance Intern
Masters Candidate, SCARP UBC
Please read on and thanks for the tweet @WaterPuppetry
