Canadian Arctic Resources Committee - Programmes


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		Issues - Plan for the Land CARC Plan for the Land Program Vision: To promote sustainable development by providing communities and review boards with adequate information and tools to allow them to make informed decisions about how much development is too much and to truly evaluate the environmental, social, economic, and cultural trade-offs of the current development trend. Background: The Northwest Territories (NWT) has been recognised as the fastest growing regional market in Canada with current elevated activity in the non-renewable resources field and hydroelectric development. The result has not been what one might normally expect; a viable region where the wealth and well-being of its citizens can be considered to be high. Rather, while certain sectors of the region are indeed benefiting from the incredible level of exploration and mine development, small Aboriginal communities are struggling to keep up the pace. Incredible demands are placed on these communities to participate in the evaluation of projects and to negotiate with multinational companies for impact and benefit agreements and access to their traditional lands. A level playing field has not been established and the communities are constantly torn between trying to overcome high levels of unemployment and social issues, and maintaining the integrity of the environment so that a traditional lifestyle can be a possibility. Even at the government level there are no assurances that the region as a whole is better off since the infrastructure and social services demands as a result of growth are increasing the territorial debt rather than alleviating it. Work at the community and government levels must be undertaken to aid in the identification of long-term goals if the NWT is to achieve truly sustainable development, rather than the current trend of “sustained development”. A number of initiatives have been underway in the NWT to address issues related to the cumulative effects of development projects but these have been very slow to be implemented; therefore, there are currently no strict guidelines for assessing social, economic, cultural, or ecological impacts of development. And, while these processes carry on with discussions and workshops, development continues at a rate that may be threatening the integrity of community life and other important resources such as the Bathurst caribou herd. Until we have more research results that will clearly tell local people what the cumulative effects of development are likely to be, there is the possibility that irreversible and insupportable damage could be done to northern society and the environment. CARC’s Plan for the Land fills an important void in assessing development. The lack of articulated policy for Northern development, and appropriate and integrated methods of environmental assessment, puts the region at enormous risk. It is this policy and regulatory void that the Plan for the Land seeks to fill. We are working to bring together northern communities, universities, and the scientific community to look at the cumulative effects of various industrial developments in the North. Working directly with affected communities, the general goal of Plan for the Land is to create an understanding of how the social and ecological “footprints” of development build up over time and impact the North. Specifically, the Plan for the Land encompasses: 1. working to develop a scenario model that integrates environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts of development; 2. beginning a pilot study with the Wildlife, Land and Environment Department (WLED) of the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation to develop modeling capacity and build directly upon research previously conducted by WLED researchers. The work will incorporate results of past and ongoing environmental and socio-economic monitoring. 3. initiating research on Genuine Progress Indicators and Genuine Wealth Accounting to measure the social, economic and environmental well-being in the North. This work will be integrated with the modeling component. 4. working towards the creation of a Community-directed Northern Research Network that could ultimately result in policy articulated for the objectives of Northern development and an agreed framework for assessing cumulative effects and limits of acceptable change. There are, in summary, three main outcomes we anticipate from this program: 1. Communities and resource managers will build capacity to converse in a common language with potential developers about development opportunities in the North; 2. Communities will be empowered to make informed decisions regarding new development, understanding the trade-offs between economy and environment; 3. Cumulative effects of Northern development will be better understood and managed. Current Articles: Top = Most Recent No Current Articles.