ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS

The report examines how Canadian watershed organizations interact with the determinants of human health. Through self-assessments of five organizations—the Fraser Basin Council, Cowichan Watershed Board, Save Our Seine River Environment Inc., Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, and Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority—the study finds that while watershed activities often have implicit health benefits, there is a significant lack of explicit integration and capacity to collaborate with the public health sector. The authors argue that watersheds can serve as integrative mechanisms for intersectoral action, potentially delivering a "double dividend" of improved environmental and human health.

• Watershed organizations generally operate from a water governance for sustainable development perspective, where health considerations are typically implicit rather than explicit.
• There is a systemic lack of capacity within watershed organizations to optimize synergies and interact effectively with partners in the health sector.
• The study identifies a critical gap in Canadian public policy: the absence of a clear strategy or action plan linking watershed management to public health.
• Effective public health and watershed management require improved core competencies and the application of place-appropriate policies that reflect watershed variability.
• The 'Watershed Governance Prism' heuristic is an effective tool for organizations to integrate biophysical and social perspectives and identify overlooked health connections.
• Funding constraints often limit the scope of watershed projects, favoring short-term, fragmented initiatives over holistic, integrated approaches.
• Public health leadership is essential to act as a catalyst for intersectoral collaboration in watershed governance to simultaneously address human and environmental health.

APA

E., M. K., W., P. M., H., H. L., C., N. R., J., B. M., & D., V. H. (2012). ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ecohealth_watersheds_canada.pdf

Chicago

E., Morrison, K., Parkes, M. W., Hallstrom, L. H., Neudoerffer, R. C., Bunch, M. J., and Venema, H. D. ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2012. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ecohealth_watersheds_canada.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=E. |first1=Morrison, K. |last2=W. |first2=Parkes, M. |last3=H. |first3=Hallstrom, L. |last4=C. |first4=Neudoerffer, R. |last5=J. |first5=Bunch, M. |last6=D. |first6=Venema, H. |title=ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=2012 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ecohealth_watersheds_canada.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{e2012ecohealth, author = {E., Morrison, K. and W., Parkes, M. and H., Hallstrom, L. and C., Neudoerffer, R. and J., Bunch, M. and D., Venema, H.}, title = {{ECOHEALTH AND WATERSHEDS}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2012}, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/ecohealth_watersheds_canada.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }