PW01 Assessment
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Wednesday
(PW012) Developing National Agri-Environmental Standards under the new Agricultural Policy Framework.
Papineau, J1, Rochon, G2, Enei, G2, 1 Water Priorities Branch, Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada2 Conservation Priorities Branch, Environment Canada, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada
ABSTRACT- The primary goal of the APF is to advance Canada as the world leader in environmentally sustainable agricultural production; to maintain high agricultural productivity while protecting the environment and maintaining the quality of the land. The National Agri-Environmental Standards Initiative (NAESI) is a 4 year program within the APF and includes a comprehensive plan for environmental action via the development and implementation of national environmental performance standards to address priority issues such as biodiversity, air quality, pesticides use and water quality. One target outcome from standards development will be to promote better understanding of environmental impacts from agriculture and to deliver effective actions to mitigate these impacts at the farm level and to promulgate environmental stewardship. From a water quality and environmental toxicology perspective, excessive nutrient (phosphorus, nitrogen) loading, pathogens and extensive use of pesticides have the potential for contamination of surface waters, ground waters and marine waters and potentially have negative impacts on aquatic life. Year one of NAESI includes an extensive scoping exercise which includes environmental risk assessment and priority setting, defining key priorities, direction and expected results/outcomes for development of environmental performance standards. An overview of planned activities and projects and the preliminary findings from the scoping year exercise for the development of agri-environmental standards will be presented with a focus on water quality.
Key words: environmental standards, sustainable agriculture, nutrients, pathogens