Emilie Lagacé

Emilie holds a Master of Science Degree from the University of Oxford and a Bachelors of Science Degree from McGill University School of the Environment. The British Geographical Society awarded her the 2009 Area Prize for best article published by a new researcher for her paper on the making of the European Union Water Framework Directive (WFD).

Emilie works at Arup, an international consultancy firm based in the UK. With her mixed environmental science and policy background she is involved in both technical and strategic projects, contributing to Environmental Impacts Assessments and conducting policy analysis in the fields of water resources, infrastructure planning and climate change. Emilie is also an Associate for Waterlution. In this role, she plans and facilitates workshops for young professionals on selected water issues in Québec.

Fellowship Project Description

Water scarcity is a defining global issue of the 21st century. Canada is no exception: the country’s top water experts say that despite the persistent myth that Canadian freshwater resources are abundant, there is a real potential that regions throughout the country, especially in the western provinces, may experience severe water scarcity. Today, the stakes of mismanagement and inaction are higher than ever before. Concerned groups have proposed strategies and blue prints for an integrated approach to water management on a national scale.

While Canada remains undecided about the approach to take, other nations are making substantial progress. Among them, one policy initiative stands out for its level of ambition: the EU WFD. Its core objective is to bring the waters of the 27 European Member States (MS) to a good ecological status by the year 2015 and to prevent further deterioration in order to safeguard the resource for the future. The WFD represents an integrated, multi-jurisdictional experience which Canadians could certainly learn from.

The project will examine the benefits of a coordinated approach to water resources management, identifying where it has been best for MS to work jointly towards the objectives set out in the WFD. The findings should identify areas where collaborative efforts between federal, provincial and territorial jurisdictions can generate the most benefits in water conservation (where it is not happening already).

The first phase consists in a series of interviews with academics, water managers, policy-makers and stakeholder organizations across the EU MS, including the European Government, to identify the areas where collaboration has been most beneficial.

Relevant Publication

Lagacé, E., Holmes, J. and R. McDonnell (2008). Science–policy guidelines as a benchmark: making the European Water Framework Directive. Area 40(4): 421-434.