This Coffee Talk will bring together scholars and practitioners to explore the future of the Great Lakes Compact and the broader governance systems that support transboundary freshwater management in an era of accelerating climate, ecological, and social change. As pressures on water resources intensify—from shifting precipitation patterns and lake level variability to growing demands from communities, agriculture, industry, and ecosystems—the resilience of existing governance frameworks is increasingly being tested.

The conversation will examine how institutions such as the Great Lakes Compact, along with binational and regional organizations, can be “future-proofed” to remain adaptive, equitable, and scientifically informed under deep uncertainty. Together, the panel will reflect on what it means to design water governance systems that are not only robust in the present, but flexible enough to endure—and evolve with—the uncertainties of the future Great Lakes region and beyond.

You can register for the Coffee Talk on the Water@Michigan Coffee Talks webpage: https://graham.umich.edu/wateratmichigan/coffee-talks

About the speakers:
Moderator: Andrew Gronewold, Associate Professor SEAS and PI for the Global Center for Climate Change and Transboundary Waters
Panelists: David Naftzger, Executive Director, Great Lakes Governors and Premiers; Peter Johnson, Deputy Director, Great Lakes Governors and Premiers; Marc Gaden, Adjunct Professor, SEAS and Executive Secretary, Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Vianey Rueda, PhD Candidate, SEAS