Development and Application of Ecosystem Health Indicators in the North American Great Lakes Basin

Abstract

Assessing the health of the North American Great Lakes Basin ecosystem is a significant challenge. The Lakes themselves contain one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water with over 17,000 kilometres of shoreline. The Basin consists of over 520,000 square kilometres of land with about 33.5 million people living there. The Basin (including the St. Lawrence River) is governed by two nations, eight states, two provinces, and hundreds of municipal and local governments. A set of Great Lakes Basin ecosystem health indicators will enable the Great Lakes community to work together within a consistent framework to assess and monitor changes in the state of the ecosystem. Data collected through various government and non-government programs can be analyzed, interpreted, and ecosystem health information characterized within a series of such indicators. A consensus by environmental management agencies and other interested stakeholders about what information is necessary and sufficient to characterize the state of Great Lakes ecosystem health, and to measure progress toward ecosystem goals, will facilitate more efficient monitoring and reporting programs. This paper will present the process for indicator selection or development, with some examples of indicator reporting. Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 63, © 2003 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541