Integrated watershed management in the Bow River basin, Alberta: experiences, challenges, and lessons learned

Abstract

Alberta’s Bow River is heavily engineered and hard-working, supplying water to almost 1.5 million people, while meeting the needs of hydropower, agriculture, tourism and irrigation industries upstream and downstream of Calgary. Working together since 1992, the Bow River Basin Council, a voluntary multi-stakeholder organization, with government representatives at the table, has developed watershed management plans as decision-support tools; provided a forum for relationship and trust building; shared information; and co-generated knowledge. Difficult challenges became opportunities for collaborative learning by doing. The processes involved in integrated watershed management were as important as the plans that emerged. Implementing plan objectives remains the greatest challenge.

Keywords:

• Co-creation of knowledge
• integrated watershed management
• social-ecological systems
• building trust
• water scarcity
• Alberta