The Inuvialuit have established a conservation area larger than Banff National Park in the Yukon's northeastern corner, with the stated goal of safeguarding their traditional culture, habitats and wildlife.
The new protected area was announced in a June 19 release informing the public that the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area Agreement has been ratified by federal, territorial and Indigenous parties. Efforts to advance the cultural and biodiversity goals of signed parties are intended to be bolstered by the agreement, in what's described in the release as “the final piece of the puzzle.”
“We are pleased that after several years of work, Inuvialuit, governments and philanthropic organizations have come together in furtherance of the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement’s goals which recognize the special nature of Aullaviat/Anguniarvik and its link to Inuvialuit cultural, environmental and economic objectives,” Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, CEO of the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, said in the release.
The Aullaviat/Anguniarvik area, which spans 8,500 square kilometres, marks an important contribution toward Canada’s conservation goals, as noted in the release.
The federal government pledged $10 million through a trust toward the creation of a stewardship and guardian program. The release stated that the program aims to provide "on-the-land cultural engagement," management and monitoring of the area and generate "meaningful" jobs in Aklavik, Northwest Territories.
The agreement is meant to ensure that conservation measures in the area comprising 1.8 per cent of Yukon’s landmass is reported to the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database, bringing the Yukon’s total conserved landmass to 21.1 per cent.
The release noted that the agreement complements existing land and marine management plans in Yukon’s north and across the border, including Ivvavik and Vuntut national parks, Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Niaqunnaq and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.
“It is in the spirit and practice of reconciliation that the Government of Canada works with Indigenous communities, like Inuvialuit, in stewardship activities while continuing to make progress toward conserving 30 per cent of lands and waters in Canada by 2030,” said Yukon MP Brendan Hanley.
Canada’s network of protected areas is intended to safeguard species at risk and build "resilient" ecosystems by bringing Indigenous knowledge together with western science, per the release. The release referred to how porcupine caribou use the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik area as a bridge from the Arctic coast calving grounds to the inland seasonal ranges.