Abstract

   The concepts of ecosystem and integrity effectively entered the binational political arena in the Great Lakes Basin in the early 1970's. They were brought together explicitly in the statement of the purpose of the 1978 Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. The 1987 Protocol to tat Agreement has helped to specify the practical meaning of ecosystem integrity of the Great Lakes Basin. The proceedings of a binational workshop in 1988, tided An Ecosystem Approach to the Integrity of the Great Lakes Basin in Turbulent Times, helped to clarify the conceptual meaning. An Ecosystem Charter for the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River Basin was proposed in 1989 to help achieve more thorough implementation of the commitment to ecosystem integrity. The evolutionary emergence of this political concept and related practice is described in the paper.

Keywords: Great Lakes Basin, ecosystem, rehabilitation, integrity

*Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society. Symposium at the University of Waterloo, July 23-25, 1990.