From Canada’s Lakes to the World: IISD Experimental Lakes Area Annual Report 2017-2018

Yes, yes, we’ve heard all the jokes—we know our lakes don’t look a day over 35.

It may come as a surprise to you that the world’s most influential 58 lakes (and their watersheds)—IISD Experimental Lakes Area—turn 50 this year. Or rather, for 50 years, these ordinary yet highly impactful lakes in a remote corner of northwestern Ontario, Canada have been the only ones in the world dedicated to long-term whole-ecosystem experimentation.

In these pages, we explore the impact that IISD-ELA’s research has had on the world’s fresh water over the last 50 years, what the future holds, and how we are celebrating our half century.