| Experimental Lakes Area Officially Saved | 4 April 14 |
After nearly two years of campaigning to save the internationally acclaimed scientific research centre, scientists and civil society welcomed the IISD deal with relief. Since May 2012, individuals such as Diane Orihel, aquatic biologist at the ELA, have been fighting announcements of closure, and federal budget and job cuts resulting in the dismissal of the core group of 17 scientists. Although the new era of the ELA is greeted with optimism, there is some concern that the two-year hold on research at the ELA will have negatively impacted continuation of long-term studies (some as extensive as 40 years of continuous research). Additionally, challenges such as rebuilding the world-class but disbanded science team, and replacing research funds and grants, still remain to be addressed. As Scott Vaughan, president of the IISD, stated, "The Experimental Lakes Area has been directly responsible for literally hundreds of regulations around the world in order to safeguard water quality, to safeguard human health from different types of contaminants." The ELA is "the only whole-lake, whole-ecosystem facility in the world able to do this type of research."
View April 3, 2014 Winnipeg Free Press article Source:
The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, CBC
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