Water

Human activity—from pollutants to climate change—is threatening the health of our planet's precious freshwater resources.

That's where we come in.

Just as our fresh water flows across borders, our work stretches across nation and sectors.

IISD can influence how we manage fresh water like no other think tank on earth, because we create scientific understanding of fresh water at our very own freshwater science facility, which then informs the policy recommendations developed by our team of policy analysts.

In other words, we truly bridge science and policy.

First the science.

IISD Experimental Lakes Area is the world’s freshwater laboratory.

A series of 58 lakes and their watersheds in northwestern Ontario, Canada, IISD-ELA is the only place in the world where scientists can experiment on and manipulate real lakes to build a more accurate and complete picture of what human activity is doing to freshwater lakes. The findings from its over 50 years of ground-breaking research have rewritten environmental policy around the world—from mitigating algal blooms to reducing how much mercury gets into our waterways—and aim to keep fresh water clean around the world for generations to come.

Then comes the policy.

We then take those scientific findings, and develop policy and programming solutions for governments, civil society, and industry that protect and enhance the natural environment, keep our fresh water clean, while also improving socioeconomic well-being.

We conduct economic analyses and hydrologic assessments so that governments best understand all the options before making final decisions. And we support the management of watersheds across national boundaries, bringing all the relevant sectors and stakeholders to the table.

IISD Experimental Lakes Area

We are the world’s freshwater laboratory—the only place in the world where scientists can manipulate real lakes to understand what human activity does to fresh water.

Natural Infrastructure for Water Solutions (NIWS)

Put simply, it’s about looking after nature, so nature can look after us.

Project

IISD at the UN 2023 Water Conference

We are excited to speak at the UN 2023 Water Conference in New York City—the first of its kind in almost 50 years.

Conference

March 22, 2023

Speaking Each Other’s Language

When it comes to communicating the research findings of the world's freshwater laboratory, we need to speak to communities in their own languages. Literally.

Success story

January 19, 2021

Let’s Talk About Natural Infrastructure…

Allow us to take you on a whirlwind tour of Pelly’s Lake in southern Manitoba, Canada, where the marvels of natural infrastructure are already being felt.

How to Protect Fresh Water from Oil Spills

This episode looks at what freshwater scientists are trying to accomplish by spilling oil into a remote lake and the unusual solution they've found to help clean up future oil spills.

Podcast

July 6, 2020

Our work in the news

Freshwater fish can recover from mercury pollution in just a few years - New Scientist

"Yet little is known from observations about how fast mercury levels decline once the pollution stops. To find out, the team ran a study in the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, Canada, a remote set of lakes set aside for science."

Experimental lake shows fish populations can recover quickly from mercury contamination - Science Magazine

"Now, a 15-year study of an experimental lake shows reducing mercury pollution that entered the ecosystem caused concentrations of the toxin in fish populations to drop substantially within only a few years. "

Animals and their DNA move through the environment in different ways - Massive Science

"Environmental DNA (or eDNA) is all the rage in ecology. Animals create and shake off DNA every day, leaving tracks as to where they’ve been. The DNA that has been shed into the environment can be sampled and tested later."