For the last 20 years in Canada, the Environmental Effects Monitoring (EEM) program has monitored the health of lakes and rivers near pulp and paper mills and metal mines to assess how effective current regulations are in protecting the environment. The EEM program publishes data on monitoring results.
In December 2015, three Environment and Climate Change scientists, Joanne Parrott, Mark McMaster and Mark Hewitt, co-authored and presented an EEM guidance document to the Governor of Espirito Santo in Vitoria, Brazil.
The guidance document for the pilot projects in Brazil, Peixe Guia (Fish Guide), has been accepted by the Espirito Santo state government. Officials indicated they wish to adopt this into formal state legislation.
"The three of us were really thrilled to be part of this project in Brazil. It is really great to see the Environmental Effects Monitoring program that was developed in Canada being used and adapted to monitoring fish and benthos in other countries,” said Parrott.
Senior research scientists Mark McMaster, Mark Hewitt, and Joanne Parrott developed a type of environmental monitoring now used in Brazil.