Mikisew Cree present concerns about Wood Buffalo to UNESCO
UN body plans to send mission to investigate industrial impacts
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, July 20, 2015
FORT CHIPEWYAN, ALTA
A United Nations organization is calling on Canada not to make any difficult-to-reverse decisions on development projects that could negatively impact Wood Buffalo National Park, a world heritage site.
Whooping crane and chick on nest Wood Buffalo National Park - Photo by Klaus Nigge/Courtesy of Parks Canada - |
The call, issued on July 1 at the 39th session of UNESCO's, (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's World Heritage Committee) in Bonn, Germany, came as a result of a petition in December from Mikisew Cree First Nation in Fort Chipewyan, Alta.
The petition requested that UNESCO place the park on its list of world heritage sites that are in danger.
"We are deeply concerned about the existing impact of industrial activity and climate change on the Wood Buffalo National Park and the new threats posed by mega-projects upstream of the Peace-Athabasca Delta," stated Mikisew Cree Chief Steve Courtoreille in a news release.
The First Nation was pleased with the response from the World Heritage Committee.
"We have been stunned by the support we have received in Bonn from members of the international community," said Melody Lepine, head of the Mikisew Cree delegation.
UNESCO listed the park as a world heritage site more than 30 years ago for its unique ecosystems.
The Mikisew Cree expressed concerns about the possible impacts from hydroelectric dams, such as the proposed Site C on the Peace River in British Columbia; oilsands development; and proposed open-pit mining near the park.
In its response to the petition, the World Heritage Committee noted "with concern"the environmental impacts of development, stating they could negatively impact the park's outstanding universal value.
The committee is also concerned by what it described as a lack of engagement with indigenous communities in environmental monitoring activities as well as what it refers to as insufficient consideration of traditional ecological knowledge.
Parks Canada responded to the Mikisew Cree petition in a March letter to the World Heritage Committee from George Green, vice-president of the federal agency's Heritage Conservation and Commemoration Directorate and the head of the Canadian delegation to the World Heritage Committee.
Green wrote that, in general, the Mikisew Cree First Nation's presentation of available science is accurate.
"That said, in Canada's view, the petitioners have overstated the case for danger listing," he said.
"Canada considers that, on balance, the outstanding universal value of Wood Buffalo National Park is currently being protected through a robust and well-developed legislative, regulatory and policy framework at the federal and provincial levels."
Green pointed to a 2014 report by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which found that the park's conservation values are sound and improving in some areas, such as overall boreal forest ecology and bison and whooping crane populations.
While the IUCN report did raise concerns about the Peace-Athabasca Delta because of dams, industrial development and climate change, Green stated the IUCN did not conclude the park is facing a critical situation.
UNESCO has also requested that Canada undertake a strategic environmental assessment on the potential cumulative impacts of all developments on the park, and invite a joint mission from the World Heritage Centre and the IUCN to conduct an in-depth investigation of how the park is being impacted by hydroelectric and oil and gas development.
In comments to News/North, Green said the mission will likely occur this fall.
"Parks Canada looks forward to working with the World Heritage Centre and International Union for the Conservation of Nature in planning and carrying out the on-site mission to Wood Buffalo," he said.
Green also pointed out that Parks Canada plays a role in multi-jurisdictional monitoring programs to safeguard Wood Buffalo National Park and is a participant in environmental assessments for projects located outside the park that could affect it.
UNESCO has requested that Canada submit an updated report on the state of conservation of the park to the World Heritage Centre by Dec. 1, 2016.
That report would be examined by the World Heritage Committee in 2017.
