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The Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories: Supporting Healthy Ecosystems, Economies, and Communities

RECOMMENDATION SUMMARY:
 Invest in a network of protected areas and conservation initiatives through the Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy, national parks proposals and regional land use plans, prior to approving any large scale developments such as the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project, in order to support healthy ecosystems, communities, and economies in the Mackenzie Valley and surrounding regions of the Northwest Territories.

Investment Required:
$25 million over five years and $4 million annually thereafter.

Benefits for Canadians:
Support, in the Mackenzie Valley and Northwest Territories (NWT):

  • A stable business environment for industry, and fewer land use conflicts, by creating certainty around land use options,
  • A diversified economy with enhanced tourism opportunities,
  • Healthy communities with continued opportunities to engage in traditional harvesting and other cultural activities,
  • Clean water and air,
  • Healthy wildlife populations, including the protection of habitat for species at risk such as boreal woodland caribou, and
  • Interconnected natural landscapes through which species and ecosystems can move as they adapt to a changing climate.

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Background and Rationale:
The Mackenzie River is Canada’s longest river. Its 1.8 million km2 watershed drains one fifth of the country. The Mackenzie River runs northwest from Great Slave Lake through the largely intact boreal forest of the NWT to the Beaufort Sea. This remote, largely roadless area has been home to Dene, Inuvialuit and Métis people for millennia. It provides habitat to hundreds of species of birds, some of the largest caribou herds in the world, and a rich diversity of other species.

Canada, the Government of the Northwest Territories (GNWT), First Nations, conservation groups and industry have all committed to working collaboratively to complete a system of protected areas in the NWT, and in the Mackenzie Valley region. For more than a decade, communities have been planning for protected areas through the NWT Protected Areas Strategy (PAS), through their regional land use plans, and through direct work with the Canadian Wildlife Service and Parks Canada.

So far, more than 30 sites have been proposed by communities themselves, working together with conservation groups, all levels of government, and industry. To date, only a few of these areas have been given temporary protection, and none has yet achieved permanent protection. The PAS relies on existing legislation and agencies to protect sites, which means that final designation of protected areas relies on the sponsorship and resources of the Canadian Wildlife Service, Parks Canada and the GNWT. While the federal government has promised $9 million and conservation organizations have committed $6 million over five years to the PAS process, the sponsoring agencies do not have the necessary resources to permanently protect and manage these areas.

At the same time, draft land use plans have been, or are being, developed as per land claim agreements, the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act, and the Dehcho Interim Measures Agreement. These plans, developed collaboratively by communities and governments, are designed to provide a roadmap for future development, but have yet to be completed and approved in the Dehcho and Sahtu regions of the Mackenzie Valley.

Meanwhile, industrial development is progressing at a rapid rate in the NWT, with the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project under review, and extensive mineral exploration and development activity underway. The federal government has invested in industrial development initiatives, but there remains a gap in investments to ensure this development is done right — to ensure that the long-term health of the land, water and communities of the North is not compromised by economic development initiatives.

While Canada has committed $500 million to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project, an equivalent investment has not been made to ensure the long-term ecological health of the region. Currently, intense development pressures are overtaking years of effort towards protecting important ecological and cultural lands.

With a concerted effort by the federal government, implementation of the PAS, regional land use plans, and national parks initiatives can all be accelerated. This will ensure that a network of lands in the NWT, and in particular in the Mackenzie Valley, can be protected for future generations of Northerners and all Canadians.

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Detailed Recommendation:
Before approving any large-scale developments such as the proposed Mackenzie Gas Project, the federal government needs to:

1) Invest $25 million over five years to:

a) Establish 18 to 20 protected areas through the PAS, sponsored by Parks Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the GNWT, and
b) Complete regional land use plans in the Sahtu and Dehcho regions.

2) Thereafter, invest $4 million per year in long-term management of these protected areas, as well as the on-going implementation and review of regional land use plans.

This investment will support implementation of the PAS and regional land use plans prior to, and concurrent with, any large-scale industrial development. Specific short-term steps that the federal government needs to take prior to approving any large-scale development include:

  1. Providing permanent protection for all candidate protected areas currently under interim withdrawal, including Sahoyúé - Dehdacho as a National Historic Site, Edehzhie as a National Wildlife Area, and the South Nahanni Watershed and Nahanni karstlands as an expanded national park reserve;
  2. Providing interim protection for all candidate protected areas currently identified by communities through the PAS, and for other protected areas initiatives;
  3. Approving and beginning implementation of the Dehcho Land Use Plan, including an interim withdrawal of lands identified as conservation zones, and
  4. Supporting the timely completion of the Sahtu Land Use Plan, including an interim withdrawal of lands identified as conservation zones.

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Further Benefits:
The implementation of this recommendation would help Canada meet numerous national and international commitments, including:

  1. NWT Protected Areas Strategy (PAS): a commitment of the federal and territorial governments, in collaboration with First Nations, conservation groups, and industry. The Mackenzie Valley Action Plan is a five year plan designed to implement the PAS in the Valley prior to construction of a proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline, thereby balancing development with conservation;
  2. Comprehensive land claim agreements;
  3. International Convention on Biological Diversity signed by Canada in 1992, along with the Convention’s recent Programme of Work on Protected Areas;
  4. A decades-old commitment to complete the national parks system; and
  5. World Heritage Convention — Canada has promised to protect World Heritage Sites such as Nahanni National Park Reserve, for the benefit of the world community. Protecting the entire South Nahanni Watershed is needed to fulfill this commitment.


Contacts:
Alison Woodley
Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS)
613-569-7226 ext 227
awoodley@cpaws.org

Lorne Johnson
WWF Canada
613-232-8706
ljohnson@wwfcanada.org

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