TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE REMEDIAL ACTION PLANNING IN THE GREAT LAKES: ENVIRONMENT-ECONOMY INTEGRATION

Abstract

In 1987, the Governments of Canada and the United States, through the International Joint Commission, agreed to implement Remedial Action Plans (RAPs) in 42 locations in the Great Lakes Basin, to restore degraded environmental conditions and related water and land uses. The RAP process, under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, is clear about the need to be broad and comprehensive in approach. One intent of this is to ensure that the restoration of impaired uses in Areas of Concern (AOCs) is sustainable into the future. Towards this comprehensiveness, it is important that the implications of economic conditions and regional development for environmental restoration in AOCs is clearly articulated. This paper discusses the rationale and means for identifying more closely the link between environment and economy towards fostering a more sustainable process.