Kafue River Basin Report Card begun in Zambia
On 26 February-1 March 2018, IAN and WWF kicked off the Lower Kafue River Basin Report Card project in Lusaka, Zambia with a report card training workshop. Staff and researchers from WWF Zambia, Zambia University, and the Zambia Water Resource Management Agency (WARMA) were in attendance. The training enabled local facilitation of the first report card stakeholder workshop, which was held in Monze from 5-7 March 2018. This project is the first Healthy Rivers for All report card project in Africa, and represents a significant milestone for the partnership. Both meetings were excellent, with active participation from all participants.
Chesapeake Bay recovery paper published
A multi-authored scientific paper from the submerged aquatic vegetation synthesis (SAV SYN) effort was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. In addition, The Conversation published an article about the synthesis effort. The results of this study provided a causal link between the nutrient reductions in the Chesapeake region and the resurgence of aquatic grasses. The results were widely reported, augmented by a visit to the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
IAN helps kick off a Report Card for the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers
At the beginning of March, IAN staff traveled to Concord, Massachusetts to initiate a report card for the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers with OARS, a non-profit whose mission is to protect, improve, and preserve the rivers, their tributaries, and watersheds. Two one-day workshops were held at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge overlooking the Sudbury River. The first day was with a fairly large group of stakeholders and the second day was with a smaller, more technical group to prioritize data needs. Participants discussed values of, and threats to each river, and identified potential indicators of river health. The remainder of the week was spent with the OARS staff to conduct report card training sessions, and kickoff their report card process. IAN will continue to work with, and support the OARS staff as they work to develop the report card over the next 12-18 months.
8th World Water Forum
Bill Dennison traveled to Brasilia with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) colleagues to represent the Healthy Rivers for All partnership. WWF shared a booth at the exposition part of the conference, where various presentations were made about report cards. In addition, a session of the 'Get the Grade!' game was run during the conference. We also met some members of the International Advisory Committee who attended the conference. Bill was able to also meet with Brazilian colleagues from the Guanabara Bay report card project to work on their joint paper. The World Water Forum was massive, very international and a great opportunity to showcase Healthy Rivers for All.