World Heritage Committee decision commends Canada's Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site

OTTAWA, July 3, 2019 /CNW/ - World Heritage sites represent some of humanity's most outstanding achievements and nature's most inspiring creations. Canada is home to an amazing array of UNESCO World Heritage sites and the Government of Canada is committed to their ongoing protection.

At the request of the World Heritage Committee, the Government of Canada, in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous communities, and stakeholders, developed a comprehensive Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site and ensure that it is safeguarded for current and future generations. Implementation of the Action Plan is already underway.

Today, at its annual meeting, the World Heritage Committee adopted a decision on the state of conservation of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site and did not inscribe Wood Buffalo National Park on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

The Government of Canada recognizes that climate change and external development pressures are having serious impacts on the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site, and that it is in the Peace Athabasca Delta that impacts are most evident. Canada, in collaboration with partners will continue to take action by implementing the measures outlined in the Action Plan in response to the concerns noted by the World Heritage Committee in its decision. These measures include strengthening relationships with Indigenous peoples, protecting the ecological integrity of the park and surrounding ecosystems, and taking action to improve water management in the Peace Athabasca Delta. 

The World Heritage Committee's decision commends the actions that have been taken to strengthen the protection and management of the World Heritage Site, including the Government of Canada's significant investment of $27.5 million through Budget 2018 to support the development and early implementation of the Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. This funding is part of the historic $1.35 billion investment by the Government of Canada to protect Canada's nature, parks, and wild spaces – a true legacy for our children and grandchildren.

Furthermore, the decision welcomes the creation of new Wildland Provincial Parks by the Government of Alberta, in collaboration with Indigenous groups, which contribute to the conservation of more than 6.7 million hectares of boreal forest, the largest contiguous protected boreal forest in the world. These protected areas provide significant buffers and landscape connectivity, which will support the conservation of the Peace-Athabasca watershed and the recovery of iconic species for which the World Heritage Site was established, such as Whooping Cranes and Wood Bison. 

The Government of Canada is enhancing the way that science and Indigenous Knowledge work together to conserve Canada's natural heritage. This is reflected in the measures outlined in the Action Plan and the Government of Canada's continued engagement of Indigenous peoples in the protection of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site which was recognized in the World Heritage Committee's decision.

Through ongoing collective action with provincial, territorial, and Indigenous partners, the Government of Canada will preserve the Outstanding Universal Value of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site so that it remains a treasured place for generations to come.

Quote

"While we are pleased that the World Heritage Committee's decision has recognized the important and collective steps that our Government alongside our Indigenous, provincial, and territorial partners have taken to protect the ecological integrity and outstanding universal value of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site; there's a lot more work to do. By developing the Wood Buffalo Action Plan in collaboration with our partners and investing in its early implementation, Canada has clearly demonstrated its commitment to the future of our country's largest national park and World Heritage Site. Canada is fully committed to the on-going implementation of the Action Plan. Through ongoing collaboration and action, including with eleven Indigenous communities in the region, we will preserve Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site for the benefit of Canadians and the world."

The Honourable Catherine McKenna,
Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada

Quick Facts

• The recognition of Wood Buffalo National Park's Outstanding Universal Value – including one of the largest free-roaming, self-regulating Wood Bison herds in the world, great concentrations of migratory wildlife, the only remaining nesting ground of the endangered Whooping Crane, the biologically rich Peace-Athabasca Delta, extensive salt plains unique in Canada, and some of the finest examples of gypsum karst topography in North America – led to its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
• In July 2017, the World Heritage Committee requested that Canada take steps to protect the Outstanding Universal Value of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. The Government of Canada welcomed the World Heritage Committee's recommendations as an important call to action.
• The Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site Action Plan was developed in collaboration with provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous communities, and stakeholders. It includes over 140 measures to increase protection of ecosystems, improve understanding and water management of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, strengthen relationships with Indigenous partners, and support the recovery of iconic species for which the World Heritage Site was established, such as Whooping Cranes and Wood Bison.
• The World Heritage Committee's annual meeting is currently taking place in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Related Document

Backgrounder:

Actions to Ensure the Protection of
Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site

In July 2015, the World Heritage Committee issued a decision requesting that Canada invite a World Heritage Centre (WHC)/International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Reactive Monitoring Mission to Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site to evaluate its state of conservation. The Committee also requested that Canada undertake a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) to assess the potential cumulative impacts of all developments on the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, including hydroelectric dams, oil sands development, and mining.

Canada welcomed the Reactive Monitoring Mission (RMM) and worked closely with the WHC, the IUCN, and Indigenous partners to ensure the mission experts were able to gather the information they required to assess the state of conservation of the site. The RMM occurred between September 26 and October 4, 2016, during which representatives of the WHC and the IUCN met with federal, provincial and territorial governments, Indigenous communities, industry, academics, and non-governmental organizations. The RMM Report was submitted to the WHC in March 2017, and included 17 recommendations to protect the site's OUV.

The World Heritage Committee adopted a decision at the July 2017 Committee meeting requesting that Canada submit an Action Plan to address conservation challenges facing the site to the World Heritage Centre. Canada submitted its final Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site to the World Heritage Centre on February 1, 2019.

Working collectively with Indigenous partners, Provincial and Territorial governments, and stakeholders, the Government of Canada will continue to take action to respond to the World Heritage Committee's recommendations. We are confident that through this collaboration we can create a path forward and secure the future of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site, so that it remains a treasured place with Outstanding Universal Value for generations to come.

Actions taken to date and currently underway to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site include the following:

Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA)

In the spring of 2018, a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) for Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site was completed in fulfillment of the 2015 World Heritage Committee request to undertake such an assessment. The SEA identifies potential cumulative impacts to the Outstanding Universal Value of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site. 

Action Plan

• In 2017, a Federal-Provincial-Territorial Coordinating Committee was established to work across jurisdictions to develop the Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
• The Government of Canada has led a collaborative effort with the Governments of Alberta, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories, in partnership with Indigenous communities and stakeholders, to develop the Action Plan. The Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site outlines a series of actions, to be undertaken over the coming years, to ensure that the Outstanding Universal Value of Wood Buffalo National Park is maintained for present and future generations.
• The Action Plan includes over 140 measures across 7 thematic areas, which respond to the recommendations of the 2017 Reactive Monitoring Mission report. This includes actions to strengthen relationships with Indigenous partners, actions to ensure improved understanding and water management of the Peace-Athabasca Delta, actions to increase protection of ecosystems within and beyond Wood Buffalo National Park (including the establishment of new conservation areas adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park), actions to support improved integration of science and monitoring in the Peace-Athabasca Delta, and actions to support the recovery of iconic species, such as Whooping Cranes and Wood Bison.
• In keeping with the spirit of reconciliation and co-operation, the 11 Indigenous communities associated with Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site were actively engaged in the development of the Action Plan to ensure that it was informed by and reflects Indigenous perspectives, values and knowledge. Parks Canada provided over $1 million in funding to support engagement from Indigenous partners in the development of the Action Plan to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada convened a process with multiple jurisdictions and Indigenous partners to develop actions to protect Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site under the theme of environmental flows and hydrology. Environment and Climate Change Canada and Parks Canada worked with federal, provincial and territorial governments and Indigenous partners to develop the relevant content for this theme of the Action Plan using science-based and Indigenous Knowledge. The next step will be to establish a governance mechanism that will oversee the implementation of actions under the environmental flows and hydrology theme.
• The Government of Canada's Budget 2018 provided historic investments to protect Canada's nature, parks, and wild spaces. These investments in Canada's natural legacy included an investment of $27.5 million in funding over five years to support the development and early implementation of an Action Plan for Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
• Engagement with Indigenous communities, stakeholders, and Federal/Provincial/Territorial partners on the draft Action Plan occurred in fall 2018. Public consultations took place from November 19 to December 10, 2018. Following the consultation period, the final Action Plan was completed and submitted to the World Heritage Centre on February 1, 2019.

Additional Actions

• In August 2017, Canada, together with the Alberta Energy Regulator, announced an amendment to the agreement of the Joint Review Panel established to review the proposed Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project. The amendment mandated the independent Joint Review Panel to specifically consider and report on the potential environmental and cumulative effects of the project on the Outstanding Universal Value of the Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site, including the Peace-Athabasca Delta. The amendment was developed in consultation with Indigenous communities.
• The Joint Review Panel established to review the proposed Frontier Oil Sands Mine Project and conduct the assessment of the potential environmental effects of the project started its public hearing on September 25, 2018. The Joint Review Panel completed the evidentiary portion of the hearing on October 24, 2018, and held final arguments on December 11 and 12, 2018, in Calgary. The Joint Review Panel will submit its report to the Minister and to the province of Alberta in late July 2019.
• In December of 2017, Canada's Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Alberta's Minister of Environment and Parks, signed a Memorandum of Understanding that renews Canada and Alberta's commitment to the monitoring of potential environmental impacts of oil sands development, including those within the Peace-Athabasca Delta region of Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site.
• Under this agreement, Environment and Climate Change Canada is investing up to $2 million annually to assist local Indigenous communities – including some of those whose traditional territory includes Wood Buffalo National Park World Heritage Site – to develop and implement community-based environmental monitoring projects.
• Parks Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of Alberta and Indigenous communities, among others, are all conducting on-going science and monitoring work in the Peace-Athabasca Delta.
• In June 2019, the Government of Canada enacted new legislation to change the way major projects under federal jurisdiction are reviewed and approved, including projects that may have an impact on national parks. In part, these changes will ensure decisions are informed by consultation with, and input from, Indigenous peoples and the public.
• In 2018, the Government of Alberta announced the establishment of new Wildland Provincial Parks adjacent to Wood Buffalo National Park, contributing to the conservation of more than 6.7 million hectares of boreal forest. These protected areas provide significant buffers and landscape connectivity to Wood Buffalo National Park, contributing to the largest contiguous protected boreal forest in the world.
• Further, in March 2019, the Government of Alberta, in collaboration with Indigenous communities and industry, announced the establishment of Kitaskino Nuwenëné Wildland Provincial Park, which protects approximately 160,000 hectares of additional land immediately south of Wood Buffalo National Park. This new protected area will help protect the Peace-Athabasca watershed and improve ecological integrity and habitat for species such as wood bison, one component of the site's OUV. Kitaskino Nuwenëné means "our land" in both Cree and Dene languages.

 Related Links

Wood Buffalo National Park
Parks Canada website
UNESCO World Heritage Centre

SOURCE Parks Canada

Sabrina Kim, Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, 819-938-9413, [email protected]; Media Relations, Parks Canada Agency, 855-862-1812, [email protected]

Related Links

www.pc.gc.ca