Integrated management of invasive cattails (Typha spp.) for wetland habitat and biofuel in the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada: A review

On many public lands in the Great Plains region of the USA and Canada, cattail (Typha spp.) growth has far exceeded the 50:50 distribution recommended for optimum wetland wildlife habitat. Excessive cattail growth is the primary concern of wetland managers and its integrated management is reviewed here. The coverage of this mostly hybrid cattail (T. latifolia × T. angustifolia) is often over 90 % and if partially removed for habitat enhancement represents a substantial biomass resource in sites such as conservation wetlands, water retention basins and roadside drainage ditches. Available biomass is estimated to be 3,000 kg/ha assuming a 50 % harvest rate. Cattail control using mowing, herbicides, and burning is expensive, therefore if harvest logistics can be improved along with developing biomass markets, harvest management would become much more viable. Energy values of cattails are comparable to wood pellets at 20 MJ/kg. Cattails can be simultaneously managed for wetland wildlife, harvested for biofuel, serve as a partial substitute for coal, generate carbon credits, and remove phosphorus from the watershed. Cattails extract nitrogen and phosphorous from runoff water that enters rivers and lakes that could be used for agricultural fertiliser while reducing eutrophication. Additionally, rural economies could be boosted by harvesting a renewable energy resource, especially in areas with little fossil fuels or unsustainable biomass practices

Review of \u3ci\u3eEau Canada: The Future of Canada\u27s Water\u3c/i\u3e. Edited by Karen Bakker.

Karen Bakker has assembled an impressive list of contributors from academia and civil society, including internationally renowned physical and social scientists and prominent former civil servants. Lavishly referenced and weighing in at a hefty 400-plus pages, the book is broken into five main sections on current governance systems, jurisdictional fragmentation, privatization and markets, pathways to better management, and worldviews. Despite its heft, Eau Canada is a compelling read. A key message repeated in several chapters is that the federal government has largely ignored the principles set out in its own 1987 Federal Water Policy, which declared an overall objective of encouraging the use of freshwater in an efficient, and equitable manner consistent with the social, economic, and environmental needs of present generations. A related point-though not commented on by any of the volume\u27s contributors-is that the federal government has also failed to meet its international commitment to develop national Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) policies, made at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002

Financing High Performance Climate Adaptation in Agriculture: Climate Bonds for Multi-Functional Water Harvesting Infrastructure on the Canadian Prairies

International capital markets are responding to the global challenge of climate change, including through the use of labeled green and climate bonds earmarked for infrastructure projects associated with de-carbonization and to a lesser extent, projects that increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. The potential to apply emerging climate bond certification standards to agricultural water management projects in major food production regions is examined with respect to a specific example of multi-functional distributed water harvesting on the Canadian Prairies, where climate impacts are projected to be high. The diverse range of co-benefits is examined using an ecosystem service lens, and they contribute to the overall value proposition of the infrastructure bond. Certification of a distributed water harvesting infrastructure bond under the Climate Bond Standard water criteria is feasible given climate bond issue precedents. The use of ecosystem service co-benefits as additional investment criteria are recommended as relevant bond certification standards continue to evolve