Ohio River Basin Collaboration Initiative
Partnerships are a driving force for national recognition of basin initiatives such as Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, and Columbia River, which are unique areas deserving of special attention.
In October 2009 and February 2010, 73 partner agencies and organizations covering state, local, and federal government, non profit organizations (NPOs), industry, and academia voluntarily convened to discuss their collective interest in the future of water resources in the Ohio River Basin. Rallying public support and political will around this very long-term and geographically expansive effort is crucial to its success.
The health of the economy is closely interrelated with the health of the environment – which is supported by clean water and predetermined by the state of our infrastructure. The draft vision and mission statements below and the draft operational framework have been developed collaboratively with this wide base of stakeholders. Through these initial efforts, we are now able to work together to assemble and leverage resources and integrate existing strategies and program activities.
Ohio River Basin initiatives can not move forward without stakeholder consensus. Having consensus has the potential to lead to national support and garner the attention needed to drive change in how we, as a nation, think about the Ohio River Basin – a resource where sustainability is required and possible. While this is going to take time, resources, and the utmost commitment, it is an achievable feat.
More than 25 metropolitan areas, acting as centers of economic growth, industrial production, technology, higher education and research, are contained within this dynamic geopolitical region. This ecosystem is nationally and globally unique in its biological and habitat diversity and socio-economic dependencies.
Water is our most important natural resource. We must come together to make this happen. With time, socio-economic, ecological, and other costs will only increase; therefore, we should not wait for a major event to catalyze this collaboration initiative.
Draft Vision: The Ohio River Basin Collaboration Initiative will support and implement integrated management of the Ohio River Basin's resources to achieve sustainable economic growth, ecological integrity and public safety.
Draft Mission: To form a successful collaboration that will recommend strategies and coordinate actions to address complex water resource challenges and priorities with a unified voice.
Guiding Principles:
1. This forum fosters inclusive participation from a variety of water resource stakeholders that includes representatives from academia, NPOs, charitable organizations, industry, businesses, local, state, and federal government agencies and others.
2. This forum will allow for effective leveraging of existing authorities, resources and capabilities to address common Ohio River Basin goals and priorities.
3. This initiative will capitalize on existing collaborations and foster the development of new collaborations, as necessary (e.g. recreational users), in order to foster innovative solutions.
4. This collaboration will not impede or infringe on the mission of any organization.
Short-term actions and long-term strategies to address specific water resource challenges are under development by each of four working groups: water availability and management, enterprise and infrastructure, restoration and protection, and sustainable growth and competitiveness.
