Coordinated Water Conservation Guidelines Needed To Protect Canada's Water System
VANCOUVER, Oct. 4, 2011 /CNW/ - Federal,provincial and municipal governments should implement coordinated
national and regional water conservation guidelines to address the
detrimental impact climate change is having on Canada's water system,
according to a new report from ACT, Simon Fraser University's
Adaptation to Climate Change Team.
"The days when Canadians take an endless abundance of fresh water for
granted are numbered," warns Bob Sandford, lead author of ACT's Climate Change Adaptation and Water Governance report. "Increasing average temperatures, climate change impacts on
weather patterns and extensive changes in land use are seriously
affecting the way water moves through the hydrological cycle in many
parts of Canada, which is seriously impacting water quantity and
quality."
"If Canada doesn't become a water conservation society, water security
in many parts of this country will be compromised."
The report calls for a dramatic reform of water governance structures in
Canada by all levels of government to meet the new challenges posed by
a changing climate, and sets out twelve broad-based recommendations to
help protect Canada's fragile water supply.
Climate change is causing increased weather instability, leading to more
frequent, deeper and persistent droughts as well as more intense
rainfall and flooding across Canada resulting in greater property
damage, higher insurance costs and a greater infrastructure maintenance
and replacement deficit nationally.
Today, half of every dollar paid out by insurance companies is for water
damage related to extreme weather events, which will continue to
increase unless government and planners undertake the deep reforms
necessary to manage water differently.
The growing economic impacts of climate change on Canada were confirmed
by a national study released last week by the National Round Table on
the Environment and the Economy (NRTEE). According to the NRTEE, the
costs of climate change could range from $5 billion per year in 2020 to
between $21 billion and $43 billion per year in 2050, depending on
global greenhouse gas emissions and domestic economic and population
growth.
"Canada is coping with climate change, not adapting," says Sandford.
"Our primary response to climate change has been focussed on reducing
emissions. While such action is critical, it is inadequate by itself.
Current and projected atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases
will result in continued climate change regardless of our success in
reducing emissions.