Environmental concerns benefit from corporate donations
Anne-Marie Jenning
Northern News Services
NNSL (Aug 07/98) - The "buzz" word in any corporation for the large part of the 1990s has been a decidedly green one -- environment.
And for environmental groups and environment-related projects, the support from the corporate world couldn't have come at a better time.
John McCullum, study director for the West Kitikmeot/South Slave Study, says the idea behind establishing the study was to bring together partners from a wide variety of areas to examine the environmental impact of continued development.
"It was a new idea," McCullum says. "In the past, most environmental studies were covered out-of-pocket by the government."
First announced in 1994, the study was designed to look at the effects of commercial development in the West Kitikmeot/South Slave region, which has served as an important region for caribou, wolves, grizzly bears, and many other forms of wildlife. Formally established in 1996, the expected life of the study is expected to be five years taking it until March 2001.
McCullum says the idea was to create a joint partnership between all three areas which would be directly affected by the findings of the study.
"It was set up as a joint funding partnership," he says. "We receive matching funds from the federal and territorial government, but we needed those trigger funds from the partners before moving ahead."
Among the corporations which have lent their support to the three-year study are BHP Diamonds Inc., Canamera Geological Ltd., Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., Echo Bay Mines Ltd., Lytton Minerals Limited, Monopros Limited, and Rescan Environmental Services. McCullum says the partnership is a strong one, and has only served to benefit the study.
"These people are partners," he says. "While there were some initial hurdles, everybody has been really good.
"We were able to collect all the funds we needed for the study. While we have to go back to the partners each year, we have been fortunate to have some big partners who are really committed to the study."
