The story of Great Lakes protection and management can be traced as far back as the signing of Boundary Waters Treaty in 1909 between the United States and Great Britain (signed on behalf of Canada), which dealt with the principles and mechanisms of preventing and resolving disputes about water quality and quantity across the border (United States and Great Britain, Citation1909). The Boundary Waters Treaty resulted in the formation of an independent advisor, namely the International Joint Commission, for preventing any disputes between the two countries. More recently a binational Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement was signed in 1972 (GLWQA, Citation2012) between the United States and Canada (with revisions in 1978, 1987 and 2012) committing to the restoration, protection and use of an ecosystem approach (Vallentyne and Beeton, Citation1988; Vallentyne and Munawar, Citation1993). The GLWQA set water quality objectives to prevent the further pollution of boundary waters of the Great Lakes. The primary focus of the 1972 GLWQA was controlling cultural eutrophication by reducing phosphorus inputs from point and nonpoint sources. A major contribution behind the GLWQA was the excellent empirical evidence by Vollenweider et al. (Citation1974), which indicated that cultural eutrophication was caused by excessive phosphorus loadings. The wide applicability of Vollenweider’s empirical relationships resulted in regulations for sewage treatment plants, regulations on phosphate levels in detergents, reductions in nonpoint phosphorus loadings, and establishment of total phosphorus loading reduction targets. Similar abatement actions were also implemented in European lakes (Willén, Citation2001).
Another major scientific initiative adopted in 1985 through Canada-United States cooperation under the GLWQA, was the development of remedial action plans to restore beneficial use impairments in Areas of Concern-AOCs (IJC, 1985; Citation1987; Hartig and Thomas, Citation1988; Hartig and Vallentyne, Citation1989; Hartig and Zarull, Citation1992; Minns et al., Citation2011). Forty-three AOCs were identified: 12 in Canada, 26 in the United States and 5 shared bi-nationally. These restoration efforts have been underway for over 30 years, resulting in substantial progress and many ongoing challenges. In 2017, in conjunction with the 32nd anniversary of the onset of remedial action plans to restore AOCs, the Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management Society (AEHMS), International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR), Great Lakes Commission, International Joint Commission, and the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge co-sponsored a two-day symposium titled “Restoring Great Lakes Areas of Concern” at the 2017 annual IAGLR conference in Detroit, Michigan. A binational Symposium Steering Committee was established to coordinate the event. The symposium attracted a large number of delegates. Twenty-six papers, originating from both countries, were presented with a panel discussion at the end of the symposium which generated discussion about achievements, lessons learned, and the future of AOCs.
The AEHMS is pleased to publish this special issue on Great Lakes AOCs. The AEHMS has a long history of publishing such special issues, including those on AOCs like the Bay of Quinte (AEHMS, Citation2011, Citation2012), Hamilton Harbour (AEHMS, Citation2016, Citation2017), and Toronto and Region (AEHMS, Citation2018). Keeping with this tradition, the AEHMS has organized this special issue comprised of 11 manuscripts and a concluding AOC overview and synthesis. The special issue is divided into the following sections:
AOC case studies
Strengthening science-policy linkages
Ecosystem-based governance in AOCs
AOC overview and synthesis
In addition to this special issue, plans are underway to publish a monograph on AOCs in the Ecovision World Monograph Series, published by the AEHMS. It will consist of new topics and expanded articles focusing on the restoration of Great Lakes AOCs.
We are indeed honored to include the foreword by U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow from Michigan and are grateful for her contribution. The assistance and support of the co-editors and members of the Symposium Steering Committee are gratefully acknowledged:
Co-editors: John Hartig and Mohi Munawar
Symposium Steering Committee: M. Munawar, J. Hartig, G. Krantzberg, R. Kalinuaskas, M. Childs,
L. Richman, M. Doss and C. Blair.
Financial assistance of the International Joint Commission towards partially supporting the publication of the special issue is gratefully acknowledged. Finally, thanks are due to J. Lorimer, S. Blunt, L. Elder and R. Rozon (AEHMS) and M. Fitzpatrick (DFO) for their assistance in various aspects of the production of this special issue. We hope that this special issue will provide a treasure of knowledge and information towards achieving a better understanding of the ecosystem-based management of degraded AOCs in the Great Lakes and throughout the world.
Aquatic Ecosystem Health & Management
References
- AEHMS, 2011. Ecosystem health and recovery of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 14(1), 1–113.
- AEHMS, 2012. Ecosystem health and recovery of the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario. Part II. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 15(4), 369–486.
- AEHMS, 2016. Special issue: State of Hamilton Harbour ecosystem, Part 1: Health, remediation and restoration. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 19(2), 101–229.
- AEHMS, 2017. Special issue: State of Hamilton Harbour Ecosystem: Health, Remediation and Restoration, Part II. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 20(3), 199–318.
- AEHMS, 2018. Special issue: Ecosystem Recovery in the Toronto and Region Area of Concern. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 21(3), 227–367.
- Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA), 2012. https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/corporate/international-affairs/partnerships-countries-regions/north-america/great-lakes-water-quality-agreement.html (accessed August 2018).
- Hartig, J.H., Thomas, R.L., 1988. Development of plans to restore degraded areas of the Great Lakes. Environmental Management 12, 327–347.
- Hartig, J.H., Vallentyne, J.R., 1989. Use of an ecosystem approach to restore degraded areas of the Great Lakes. Ambio 18(8), 423–428.
- Hartig, J.H., Zarull, M.A., 1992. Towards defining aquatic ecosystem health for the Great Lakes. J. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health 1(2), 97–107.
- International Joint Commission, 1985. International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board. 1985. Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, Windsor, ON, Canada
- International Joint Commission United States and Canada (IJC), 1987. Revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement of 1978: Agreement with Annexes and Terms of Reference, Between the United States and Canada, Signed at Ottawa November 22, 1978 and Phosphorus Load Reduction Supplement signed October 16, 1983: as Amended by Protocol Signed November 18, 1987. Windsor, ON, Canada.
- Minns, C.K., Munawar, M., Koops, M.A., Millard, E.S., 2011. Long-term ecosystem studies in the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, 1972–2008: A prospectus. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health Mgmt. 14(1), 3–8.
- United States and Great Britain, 1909. The Boundary Waters Treaty: Treaty between the United States and Great Britain Relating to Boundary Waters, and Questions Arising between the United States and Canada. Washington, D.C., USA.
- Vallentyne, J., Beeton, A., 1988. The ‘Ecosystem’ Approach to Managing Human Uses and Abuses of Natural Resources in the Great Lakes Basin. Environmental Conservation 15(1), 58–62.
- Vallentyne, J.R., Munawar, M., 1993. From aquatic science to ecosystem health: a philosophical perspective. J. Aquat. Ecosyst. Health 2(2), 231–235.
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- Willén, E., 2001. Four Decades of Research on the Swedish Large Lakes Mälaren, Hjälmaren, Vättern and Vänern: The Significance of Monitoring and Remedial Measures for a Sustainable Society. Ambio 30(8), 458–466