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Inuit, feds reach IIBA deal on conservation areas

Igaliqtuuq may finally get go-ahead

JANE GEORGE

Qaqulluit (Cape Searle), soon to become a national wildlife area, is an important nesting area for seabirds (PHOTO BY MARK MALLORY, CWS).

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That was the good news that George Echalook, the vice-president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, shared with the QIA’s annual general meeting last week in Iqaluit.

The Canadian Wildlife Service, the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs and Nunavut’s three regional Inuit associations came up with a deal - now awaiting final cabinet approval - that will see Inuit receiving $8.3 million over seven years.

Of this, $5 million will be spent on encouraging Inuit tourism, culture and heritage, with $3.3 million to help pay for co-management committees.

During the land selection process for Nunavut, more than 22.5 million hectares of lands (almost 11 per cent of Nunavut) were set aside for territorial and national parks, and conservation areas, including migratory bird sanctuaries, wildlife sanctuaries, and national wildlife areas.

Article 9 of the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement required the negotiation of an Inuit impact and benefit agreement for most conservation areas. The final IIBA outlines how these areas will be co-managed and how the cultural, heritage and wildlife resources will be protected. The IIBA also spells out Inuit rights and benefits related to use of the lands and resources within the conservation areas, tourism, research, employment and training.

The IIBA process was a long and drawn out exercise.

In 2001, negotiations started for an umbrella IIBA covering the 13 existing federal conservation areas in Nunavut, which include the Bylot Island and Dewey Soper migratory bird sanctuaries and the Polar Bear Pass national wildlife area.

The IIBA also applies to three new national wildlife areas: Igaliqtuuq, Qaqulluit and Akpait.

The process leading to the final IIBA for Igalirtuuq has been a very long time coming: in 1992, Clyde River first voted to go ahead with the Isabella Bay whale sanctuary, known as Igaliqtuuq.

The establishment of Igaliqtuuq was held up by disagreement over what benefits the IIBA should contain. Cash was the main stumbling block because budgets for protected areas are generally small, and unlike national parks, their emphasis is on wildlife conservation, not recreation.

Protecting the coastal region from future development is the main rationale behind the proposed sanctuary, but Clyde River has also identified potential economic benefits for the community, such as the development of whale-watching and eco-tourism tours in Isabella Bay where up to 300 bowheads come every year in mid-July, when they feed and mate in the bay’s protected, plankton-rich waters.

Other IIBAs in the works include one for Nunavut’s territorial parks, which is still up in the air, another for heritage rivers, which is stalled due to disagreement over money; and another on historic sites, for which negotiations are to start by the end of 2006.

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