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The document advocates for strategic large-basin management in the Lake Winnipeg/Nelson River basins to address climate change, flooding, drought, and nutrient loading. It suggests that integrating ecosystem services into a basin-wide framework, such as the strategic management of upstream wetlands, can optimize power generation and environmental health. The submission references the Columbia River and Murray-Darling River basins as successful examples of transboundary management for multiple benefits.

The report highlights Lake Winnipeg's extreme vulnerability to upstream pressures due to its very low volume relative to its massive drainage basin. It argues that managing the lake in isolation is insufficient and recommends a transboundary, basin-wide framework that treats land as 'ecological infrastructure.' By implementing distributed storage and wetland restoration, the region can mitigate floods, capture nutrients, and buffer against climate change while supporting hydroelectric generation. The document draws on case studies from the Columbia River and Murray-Darling basins to illustrate how integrated water resources management (IWRM) and ecosystem services can balance competing economic and environmental needs.