OPEN LETTER
On November 26, a few days before the holding of the COP15 on biodiversity, it will be the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the National water policy. This Policy should lead to a substantial improvement in water quality and allow us to sustain the use of our waterways. To achieve this, it was based on seven principles including sustainable and integrated water management by watershed, a user-pays and polluter-pays approach for the use of water, the reconciliation of uses and the call for a collective commitment for the protection, restoration and development of water.
Twenty years later, where are we?
It is undeniable: the creation of 40 watershed organizations (OBV) which crisscross the territory has made it possible to establish better sustainable and integrated water management. Their task is colossal; they must ensure that rivers and their tributaries are protected through consultation approaches between all stakeholders and through various projects on the ground. However, underfunded and lacking real decision-making powers, it is difficult for them to impose the priorities of their watersheds on municipalities, MRCs and the government, compromising the implementation of the water master plans that they elaborate.
The adoption of stricter laws for the protection of water, including the Law affirming the collective nature of water resources and aiming to strengthen their protection, is another progress resulting from the National Water Policy. However, we are slow to see the effects of these reinforcements on water protection. The 2020 report on the state of Quebec's water resources and aquatic ecosystems indicates that several key indicators have deteriorated, that a large number of rivers are in poor condition, particularly in agricultural areas, that more than half of Native species of reptiles and amphibians are in a precarious situation and the overall naturalness of waterways is generally low.
On the principle of reconciling uses, the privatization of the banks makes the bodies of water less and less accessible to the general public. Local property owners are also suffering the repercussions of the exponential growth in the number and power of noisy motorboats. As for water withdrawals from the territory, the collection and sharing of data are still insufficient to prevent conflicts of use. Water shortages in southern Quebec are now recurring in summer. We have even seen cases where farmers had to have water delivered to water their livestock, a phenomenon considered unthinkable 20 years ago.
And now, what are the next steps?
The climate mobilization program recently announced recognizes the importance of citizen initiatives in the fight against climate change. It is high time that the State recognizes the importance of citizen initiatives for the protection of water as well. Citizens' committees can play a key role in protecting water in Quebec. They alert, denounce, keep an eye on things and highlight problems.
Twenty years… And so few results. A major project is required to revive the vision of participatory democracy to face new realities and future challenges. A vision to be renewed not only by experts, elected officials and environmental groups, but also by representatives of civil society.
Looking forward to a National Water Summit!
By André Bélanger, general director of Fondation Rivières, and Rebecca Pétrin, general director ofEmergency Water
Photo: Matthew Henry, Burst
