Nicole Kranz, Senior Fellow with Ecologic, recently spoke about European Water Governance at the H2Ontario Symposium on Integrated Water Management held on 21 and 22 May in Toronto, Ontario. The Symposium was aimed at discussing current approaches to Integrated Water Management in Canada as well as internationally and determining the way forward for current approaches underway in the Ontario Province.

The Symposium was attended by representatives of a wide range of Ontario conservation and water management agencies as well as several provincial ministries. Speakers discussed theoretical foundations as well as the practical implementation of integrated water resource management and included the Minister of Natural Resources, Ontario Province, Mrs. Donna Cansfield and the Regional Director, Fisheries and Oceans Canada Bob Lambe. The symposium was organized by Conservation Ontario, the provincial agency overseeing the protection of natural resources.

Nicole Kranz in her presentation provided for an overview of the most recent developments with regards to the implementation of the Water Framework Directive in Europe, including current approaches towards addressing the adaptation to climate change, as inspiration and input for activities in Canada. It became evident during the discussions, that albeit slightly different approaches have been followed in Canada and Europe respectively, there is a lot of potential for mutual learning and exchange. Ecologic Institute is actively promoting transatlantic exchange on water policy issues. Merdith Carter, now with the Otonabee Region Conservation Authority commenced this exchange during a two-month research stay with Ecologic in Berlin.