Coordinate, Collaborate, Act: Leading the way to water solutions with a basin wide strategy 

Coordinate, Collaborate, Act - Leading the way to water solutions with a basin wide strategy

The Assiniboine River Basin Initiative is holding its second annual conference this November. The conference will be held for two days in Brandon’s Victoria Inn, 3550 Victoria Ave. The event will begin at 9:00 a.m. Thursday November 12, and end on Friday November 13 at 1:00 p.m. The registration desk will be open 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Wednesday November 11, and between 8:30 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning. During the same times registrants who reserved a 10’x10’ tradeshow booth space will have time to set up their exhibits. A 10’x10’ space can be reserved during registration free of charge. There will be a Banquet Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. guest tickets are $50 each and can be bought while registering.

The two day conference will feature multiple panel discussions, breakout group sessions identifying and prioritizing issues that will provide input and direction in the development of the Assiniboine River Basin - Coordinated Action Plan (ARB-CAP) which will guide ARBI annual work plans and enable progress to be measured at each annual conference as well as the celebration of success stories. Keynote speaker, Danny Blair will be giving a presentation called Water Matters in Our Changing Climate Wednesday after the opening remarks and greetings. Here is a brief summary of his talk: The climate of the prairies is one in which the precipitation regime, and the water resource in general, is characterized by variability.  Alas, climate models suggest that this variability is likely to increase in the coming decades, such that water abundances and shortages will become even more problematic than now.  The implications for water management within and between the region’s basins are profound, and are deserving of much pre-emptive attention.  The presentation summarizes what the latest climate models project for the region, and proposes that trans-boundary water issues are likely to become increasingly important.

We look forward to having you participate in the conference. See you there.

Keynote Speaker Danny Blair Biography

Danny Blair is the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Science at the University of Winnipeg, where he is also a Professor of Geography and Principal of the Richardson College for the Environment.  

His main research interests are climate variability and change in Canada’s western interior. He was a contributing author of Canada’s National Assessment of Climate Change released in 2008, and is a frequent presenter and participant in workshops about climate change in the prairies.  

Current research projects include: the creation of a climate change atlas for Manitoba (with funding from the Province of Manitoba); the development of risk reduction strategies related to climate change on the prairies (partnering with IISD and others); and an assessment of the potential for transboundary water conflicts in a changing prairie climate (with funding from SSHRC).

He obtained his BSc and MSc degrees from the University of Regina and a PhD from the University of Manitoba. He is co-chair of the Steering Committee of Climate Change Connection, Manitoba’s principal climate change outreach organization.