IntroductionEutrophication refers to the nutrient over-enrichment of water bodies and is one manifestation of anthropogenic adverse impact on the environment worldwide (Smith, 2003). The interactive world map on the World Resources Institute Website (World Resources Institute, 2015) vividly showcases examples of eutrophic water bodies worldwide, including Lake Erie in Canada and the United States, the Susquehanna River in the United States, Lake Winnipeg in Canada and the Bohai Sea in China. Lake Erie has been subject to severe eutrophication in the 20th century, with excessive nutrient loading in the 1960s and 1970s. Indeed, it was primarily eutrophication that prompted the US and Canada to sign the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA) in 1972, with stipulated nutrient loading reduction targets for the lake. These phosphorus (P) loadings were from both point (sewage treatment plants, industrial discharges) and non-point sources (agriculture, urban runoff), but measures in the GLWQA focused on point source reduction through phosphorus control technologies and regulations for phosphorus in detergents and sewage treatment effluents (DePinto et al., 1986). Whilst these measures were successful and resulted in P load reductions and the concomitant return of Lake Erie's resiliency (DePinto et al., 1986; Botts and Muldoon, 2005; Scavia et al., 2014), increases in hypoxia, beach closings and algal biomass since the mid-1990s are indications that Lake Erie has become eutrophic again (Bridgeman and Penamon, 2010; Burns et al, 2005; Michalak et al., 2013; Scavia et al., 2014). The term re-eutrophication has been used to describe this phenomenon (Culver and Conroy, 2012; Scavia et al., 2014).While the causes of eutrophication of Lake Erie in the 1960s and 1970s seemed simple and could be linearly traced to P loadings, the current eutrophication of Lake Erie is highly complex and compounded by interacting stressors such as aquatic invasive species and climate change (Pennuto et al., 2014). The eutrophication of Lake Erie now displays the symptoms of a wicked problem, where all the information is not known and the solution is not clear cut and is highly complex (Xiang, 2013). As such, a new model of governance is needed for the restoration of Lake Erie, a governance model that moves from the old command and control paradigm that worked well in a highly certain world, to one that embraces uncertainty. One such governance model is adaptive governance, as it is the facilitator of adaptive capacity that allows better response in an uncertain environment.This paper introduces the concept of adaptive capacity and shows its relevance to eutrophication of Lake Erie. A framework for assessing adaptive capacity is developed and conceptualized by formulating determinants of adaptive capacity from the literature. These determinants are then validated through semi-structured interviews in a baseline case of Lake Erie, which went from severe nutrient enrichment in the 1970s to significant P reductions in the early 1990s. This paper argues that an analysis of these determinants can show the gaps in building adaptive capacity and can prove valuable in the implementation of actions for nutrient management and hence in the implementation of Annex 4 (Nutrients) under the Great Lakes Water Quality Protocol 2012.Eutrophication of Lake Erie - Baseline CaseThe Laurentian Great Lakes are the largest freshwater body on earth and comprise Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. All the Great Lakes are subject to a host of anthropogenic stressors, as illustrated in the land use pattern shown in Figure 6.1. Lake Erie is the least forested of all the Great Lakes and has the most intensive farmlands and urban areas. According to Environment Canada and USEPA (1995), 63% of Lake Erie watershed is being farmed while 84% of its shoreline is for residential uses, 35% is used for agriculture and 22% for commercial uses. …
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Aug 31, 2017
Derajat Prasetyo + 1
Open Access
