When a Water Problem Is More Than a Water Problem: Fragmentation, Framing, and the Case of Agricultural Wetland Drainage

Abstract

Complex interactions between water, society, the economy, and the environment necessitate attention to how water issues are framed, and the limitations of a water-centric framework for analyzing or solving problems. We explore this complexity through an example of an existing complex, or wicked, policy problem-the case of agricultural wetland drainage in the Canadian Prairies. Agricultural wetland drainage expands the amount of productive agricultural land, increasing agricultural efficiency and productivity. Drainage is also one of the primary drivers of the loss of Canada's wetlands and is a hotly contentious issue between actors with divergent views and values in the Canadian Prairies. Using the nuances of drainage as an exemplar, we discuss how fragmented framings of water foster perspectives and solutions that fail to consider the full range of aspects and interactions, and contribute to the enduring conflicts that accompany drainage debates in many regions. First, we discuss agricultural wetland drainage as practiced in the province of Saskatchewan, where significant regulatory and governance changes are in progress. Next, we discuss the challenges of policy and governance fragmentation, both specific to water and to the surrounding system. Finally, we note potential alternative framings that, while specific to prairie water governance, provide guidance for how other complex social-ecological challenges might be approached.

A watershed classification approach that looks beyond hydrology: application to a semi-arid, agricultural region in Canada

“…Wetland drainage and wetland consolidation change hydrological connectivity and therefore the transport of nutrients and their loading into receiving water bodies (Brown et al, 2017;Vanderhoof et al, 2017). More positive values of the moisture deficit (i.e., where P >= PET) were associated with greater wetland densities ( Fig.…”

“…6b) (Liu and Schwartz, 2012), and these areas were generally associated with greater fractions of cropland, such as the Pothole Till, Pothole Glaciolacustrine, and Southern Manitoba watersheds. In these regions wetland drainage is widely practised, historically or at present, and conflict over available arable land and wetland conservation is high (Breen et al, 2018).…”

Soil and water management: opportunities to mitigate nutrient losses to surface waters in the Northern Great Plains

“…Drainage policies and their enforcement have varied, and they continue to vary regionally. However, the changes in policy with time are most striking-from early policies of cooperative work to facilitate surface drainage and maximize land under production, to more recent moves to arrest or reverse effects of past drainage, and manage excess water in light of increased flood risk (MacKenzie and Lieslar 2013; Prairie Habitat Joint Venture 2016; Breen et al 2018).…”

“We Don’t Drink the Water Here”: The Reproduction of Undrinkable Water for First Nations in Canada

“…In the prairie region, "[f]arming practices, such as drainage and wetland removal, are changing the landscape and the ecological services that it provides" [94], reducing wildlife habitat, displacing wildlife, and changing surface water flows in terms of volume, timing, and chemistry. As more and more isolated wetland 'potholes' are connected to creeks and streams, downstream flooding is increasing in frequency and degree of damage [95].…”