News Release
The Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Howard Wheater as chair of the Expert Panel on Water and Agriculture. As an international expert in hydrological science and sustainable water resource management, his experience and knowledge will be a tremendous asset as we undertake this assessment. The Council is honoured to have such an outstanding researcher as Dr. Wheater working with us.
Dr. Wheater holds the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Water Security and is a professor in the School of Environment and Sustainability, and professor in the Department of Civil and Geological Engineering, College of Engineering, at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Wheater also serves as vice-chair of the World Climate Research Programme’s Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment, and leads UNESCO’s arid zone water resources program. He has studied and advised on flood, water resource, and water quality issues globally.
As chair of the expert panel, Dr. Wheater will work with the panel to address the question posed to the Council by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: What additional science is needed to better guide sustainable management of water to meet the needs of agriculture?
As Canadian freshwater supplies come under increasing stress from multiple demands, decisions about this natural resource need to be made with a more complete understanding of its availability and what implications that will have for agriculture.
The Council, under the guidance of its Scientific Advisory Committee, is now beginning to assemble an expert panel to complete this assessment. For continued updates on the status of the assessment visit Sustainable Management of Water in the Agricultural Landscapes of Canada.