Members of the newest node of WATER FUTURE met recently at the Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) on 10 and 11 May, 2016 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to design the activities of WATER FUTURE, and explore the needs, benefits and options for developing a western Canada hub for the Programme. In attendance were representatives from Future Earth, the University of Manitoba, the International Institute for Sustainable development (IISD), the Water Security Agency, and the City University of New York (CUNY), among others.
The Global Institute for Water Security, based at the University of Saskatchewan, will host the Secretariat of the Water Future-Canada Hub. This is an exciting development as the hub will be the first one based in North America, offering the opportunity to expand on water research at a higher capacity, and lead the way in further expanding the newly formed WATER FUTURE network.
Initially, the four themes that will be addressed through the node are, 1) climate risk and adaptation: assessing vulnerability and managing risk; 2) water quality and ecosystems: values and trade-offs; 3) Water-Energy-Food (W-E-F) and sustainability: critical threats and interactions; and 4) governance for transformation. The hub will work over the next few months to create introductory reports on the four themes, which will in part help to form the basis of the next stage of work of the Canadian node of WATER FUTURE.