GATINEAU, QC, June 19, 2024 /CNW/ - Indigenous peoples have long been leaders in environmental stewardship, sustainable development, and management of natural resources. Bringing Indigenous knowledge together with western science offers solutions to biodiversity loss and climate change, while safeguarding the natural spaces we all depend on.

The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, today celebrates the new Inuvialuit-led conservation area in the Yukon. Canada and its partners, the Inuvialuit Parties and the Government of Yukon, have signed the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area Agreement, which ensures the conservation and protection of almost 8,500 km² of the Eastern Yukon North Slope called Aullaviat/Anguniarvik. The area is larger than Banff National Park and is an important contribution toward Canada's goal of conserving 30 percent of lands and waters in Canada by 2030.

Canada's $10 million funding contribution, with $3.5 million in matching funding from philanthropic organizations, will support the creation of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Stewardship and Guardians Program through a trust. This program will guide the management and monitoring of the area, enable on-the-land cultural engagement across generations, and provide meaningful jobs in Aklavik.

The parties to the Agreement have developed a management plan for the area to ensure conservation and traditional Inuvialuit use. This announcement complements the network of terrestrial and marine protected areas across northern Yukon and spans international borders, including Ivvavik and Vuntut National Parks and Herschel Island Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Niaqunnaq (part of the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area), and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

This historic ratification was put into motion with the signing of the 1984 Inuvialuit Final Agreement, which identified the entire northern portion of the Yukon as a place for the conservation of wildlife, habitat and traditional Inuvialuit use. The Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Agreement is the final piece of the puzzle that advances the cultural and biodiversity goals and objectives of Inuvialuit, Canada, and the Yukon.

"Indigenous-led conservation is one of the most important pathways for achieving Canada's biodiversity goals and sustaining long-term conservation gains. Congratulations to the many partners who have worked toward the creation of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area over the last 40 years. This historic agreement ensures the region's lands, waters, and biodiversity will remain conserved for future generations and is an example of Canada's ongoing commitment to a distinctions-based approach for Inuvialuit. Through partnerships like this, Canada continues to make progress toward conserving 30 percent of lands and waters in Canada by 2030."
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

"Indigenous peoples have been stewards and managers of the land, waters, and ice, and leaders in ecosystem conservation since time immemorial. Establishing new Inuvialuit-led conservation areas is one way we are working together. 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 percent of lands and waters in Canada by 2030."
– Brendan Hanley, Member of Parliament for Yukon

"Our government is pleased to sign the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area Agreement. We are committed to supporting Indigenous-led conservation in the Yukon to protect and restore nature and biodiversity which aligns with the goals of the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement. Thank you to the Government of Canada and the Inuvialuit for bringing this historic agreement to fruition which will be instrumental in preserving Inuvialuit culture, identity and values, and protecting and conserving wildlife, habitat and biodiversity in the Eastern North Slope."
– The Honourable Nils Clarke, Yukon Minister of Environment

"The Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area Agreement represents the completion of the special conservation regime identified 40 years ago in the IFA. Our Council is proud to have supported this process through decades of collaboratively gathering science and Indigenous knowledge information toward securing a vibrant future for wildlife and Inuvialuit on the Yukon North Slope. I want to thank the tireless efforts of all Parties, and especially Aklavik Inuvialuit, in completing this historic agreement."
– Jennifer Smith, Chair, Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope)

"The Inuvialuit Regional Corporation represents the rights and interests of Inuvialuit. We are pleased that after several years of work, Inuvialuit, governments and philanthropic organizations have been able to come together in furtherance of the Inuvialuit Final Agreement's goals which recognize the special nature of Aullaviat/Anguniarvik and its link to Inuvialuit cultural, environmental and economic objectives. IRC will maintain the trust fund and work with all interested parties to ensure that the stewardship of Inuvialuit traditional lands continues for generations to come."
– Duane Ningaqsiq Smith, Chair and CEO, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation

"This milestone is an important and significant accomplishment for the parties involved, but most importantly for the Inuvialuit people. Aullaviat/Anguniarvik holds great value to our people and the wildlife we have harvested for subsistence since time immemorial. The Inuvialuit Game Council is proud to acknowledge this huge step forward in Inuvialuit-led conservation in our region and is looking forward to the benefits this agreement will have to our land, our wildlife and our communities."
– Dean Arey, Chair, Inuvialuit Game Council

"Aullaviat/Anguniarvik means 'where wildlife and people travel, a place to hunt, and this place has been a vital part of the Inuvialuit homeland since time immemorial. The traditional use and management of this area is central to our Inuvialuit culture, identity and values. We are proud to finally establish an agreement with Canada and the Yukon that will allow us to continue to take care of the animals and sustain our culture."
– William Storr, Representative, Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Working Group, and President, Aklavik Hunters and Trappers Committee

"Aullaviat/Anguniarvik is a very special place for Inuvialuit, where we have traveled, harvested, and lived for many generations. Aullaviat/Anguniarvik is home to caribou, moose, bears, fish, birds, and many other important animals. Harvesting in Aullaviat/Anguniarvik supports the cultural, spiritual, and economic health of Inuvialuit. We need to be out on the land to keep it healthy. We are proud to announce the establishment of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area and associated funding for Inuvialuit-led management of the area. This funding will allow Inuvialuit in Aklavik to get out on the land, share knowledge between generations, fill our freezers, and secure a healthy and vibrant future for our young people and for Aklavik."
– Jordan McLeod, President/Chair, Aklavik Community Corporation

"Many of today's Elders in Aklavik grew up on the land in and around Aullaviat/Anguniarvik. We learned from our Elders, and over the decades we have seen changes to the land and the wildlife firsthand. We now live in Aklavik, but our time in Aullaviat/Anguniarvik is precious. It allows us to harvest, connect with our ancestors, spend time with family and friends, and to pass on our knowledge to tomorrow's leaders. The Elders in Aklavik are pleased to see that with the establishment of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area, our vision for full wilderness protection across the Yukon North Slope is complete."
– Lorna Storr, Aklavik Elder Committee

"The 444S Foundation is honoured to have supported the Inuvialuit's efforts to conserve Aullaviat/Anguniarvik on the Eastern Yukon North Slope for the past 8 years, first with funding to braid indigenous knowledge and western science into the North Slope Wildlife Conservation and Management Plan, and now with funding for the Trust Fund supporting the Inuvialuit Stewardship and Guardians program. With the establishment of this Traditional Conservation Area almost all of the calving, post calving and summer range of the Porcupine Caribou herd's habitat is now protected in Canada."
 – Fred Ackerman-Munson, Executive Director, 444S Foundation

"The final establishment of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area is a truly remarkable achievement.  Successes like this are only possible when everyone comes together for a common cause. The Inuvialuit People have safeguarded these lands and the animals that depend on them for millennia, and it is because of their stewardship that Aullaviat/Anguniarvik remains unmarred and untrammeled. And because of today's designation, resources are available to ensure it remains just the way it is in perpetuity."
– Haley Mellin, Art into Acres (on behalf of artist Dana Schutz)

"The Inuit-led formal establishment of the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area has been decades in the making and is a historic step towards a sustainable future. The Wyss Foundation is proud to partner with Indigenous peoples, philanthropic organizations, and the Government of Canada to ensure that more than two million acres of land are protected for Inuvialuit traditional use, along with the conservation of wildlife and habitat, for future generations. We congratulate everyone who had a hand in making today's remarkable achievement possible."
– Molly McUsic, President, Wyss Foundation

• In Inuvialuktun, Aullaviat/Anguniarvik means "where wildlife and people travel , a place to hunt."
• Aullaviat/Anguniarvik, the Eastern Yukon North Slope, forms an important interface between land and sea for people and wildlife. It joins Inuvialuit peoples to relatives in Alaska and Yukon and to familiar harvesting places throughout the region. It bridges the coastal calving grounds of the porcupine caribou herd with important seasonal ranges, and it connects a network of protected areas to ensure wildlife populations have space to move as habitats shift.
• Canada's network of protected and conserved areas helps to protect wildlife habitat and safeguard healthy, resilient ecosystems, which contribute to the recovery of species at risk. Expanding conserved and protected natural areas is one of the most important actions that we can take to curb the ongoing loss of nature and biodiversity.
• Through Canada's Nature Fund, four philanthropic foundations (444S Foundation, Art into Acres in partnership with Re:wild, Wilburforce Foundation, and Wyss Foundation) are collectively contributing approximately $3.5 million to the Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Trust.
• The Aullaviat/Anguniarvik Traditional Conservation Area covers 1.8 percent of the Yukon's landmass. Reporting it as protected increases the Yukon's total protected areas reported to the Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database to 21.1 percent and contributes to the goals of the Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement.

• News Release: Wildlife Management Advisory Council - North Slope; New Inuvialuit Led Conservation Area Established in the Yukon

• Canadian Protected and Conserved Areas Database
• Protected Areas Program: Strategic Program Plan and Vision to 2030
• Nature Legacy Target 1 Challenge project map
• Aullaviat/Anguniarvik – Wildlife Management Advisory Council (North Slope) (wmacns.ca)
• Inuit Nunangat Policy (rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca)
• Canada-Yukon Nature Agreement

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SOURCE Environment and Climate Change Canada