GWF Synthesis of Results and Outcomes

How are the research findings from the Global Water Futures program informing water management and practice across Canada?

GWF is carrying out a synthesis of our project and core team science outcomes as they wrap up their activities over the final year of the GWF program. Advancements and findings will be pulled together into a framework focused on policy and management, practitioner, community-level, and other users' questions and needs. A major national report will cover:

  • changing climate and meteorological extremes;
  • changing forests and land cover;
  • changing groundwater;
  • changing water quality and ecology;
  • changing agricultural water;
  • changing surface flows of Canadian river basins;
  • human dimensions of water;
  • changing international waters;
  • changing cryosphere;
  • GWF toolbox.

GWF’s research findings have implications for water policy and practice. Each chapter will summarize these, and will be underpinned by scientific and Indigenous Knowledge. From these, we will generate targeted and specially tailored outputs to communicate outcomes to technical, policy level, and public knowledge users.

Effective planning for water management needs a broad view from the river basin level. The synthesis will lead to regional summary reports comprised of a comprehensive description of GWF findings framed within the regional/river basin context (Great Lakes-St Lawrence/East, Western Basins, Northern Basins) directed primarily towards regional users.

The experience and knowledge of Indigenous Peoples provides essential context and insight for water science and solutions. In parallel, we will develop an Indigenous focused and led synthesis to pull together outcomes from our Indigenous Community Water Research Projects and other components of GWF, provide Indigenous perspectives and framing of GWF findings, and amplify Indigenous voices and knowledge towards water solutions.

Personnel and Resources

The GWF institutional leads are supporting this activity with dedicated secretariat support in writing, researching, developing stats, compiling information, and making specialized model runs (“policy runs”) to inform the report. The writing team includes Ashleigh Duffy (former IMPC project manager) and Darrell Corkal (previously with the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration and a contributing author of the GWF stakeholder needs assessment report at the beginning of the program).

Timeline

We are aiming for a first draft of the national report by June 2025 and completion of the report by August 2025. The preparation of journal articles, regional reports, and communication products will occur concomitantly, but may take longer for completion and final publication. The GWF Indigenous synthesis is anticipated by the Fall of 2025.