WWF hires new director for its Nunavut office

Paul Crowley in 2008, while representing the Nunavut francophone association during legislative committee hearings on the Education Act. (FILE PHOTO)

Iqaluit lawyer Paul Crowley is the new director of the World Wildlife Foundation’s Canadian Arctic Program, the organization announced Oct. 15.

A long-time resident of Nunavut, Crowley has provided advice on a number of Arctic issues, from climate change to natural resource development.

He most recently served as principal secretary to former Nunavut premier Eva Aariak.

“I’m delighted to join an organization and program with a solid record of working with Aboriginal peoples in Canada and around the world,” Crowley said in an Oct. 15 release.

“This is a region of great opportunity. I look forward to working with communities to find practical and meaningful solutions that work. The peoples of the Arctic have much to teach the world about sustainability.”

The WWF only recently opened an office in Iqaluit, to help strengthen its Arctic program and presence in Nunavut.

It’s first director, Vicki Sahanatien, remains in Iqaluit but has moved on from the organization.

WWF’s Arctic program works with local communities, Inuit organizations, regulators and industry to support research and help shape development in the Arctic.

The program also collects data on species like the polar bear, narwhal and Greenland shark.

In 2013, the WWF launched a new Arctic mapping tool, which shows where Arctic oil activity may clash with marine mammals or how the melting ice has influenced shipping routes.

The organization has also in the past teamed up with Coca Cola, which released a series of the iconic pop cans with images of polar bears on them in 2011 as part of the “Arctic Home” campaign to raised awareness of the Arctic’s fragile ecosystem.

“The Arctic region is rapidly shifting under the effects of climate change, requiring heightened sensitivity to local economic and social development needs,” said WWF’s CEO David Miller.

“I’m confident that Paul’s vast experience working in the north and personal commitment to environmental issues, and his strong background in social and economic justice, will allow him to make a real impact at a critical time for the Arctic.”

Crowley’s background also includes providing close support to efforts by Inuk environmental activist Sheila Watt-Cloutier to introduce human rights into United Nations climate change negotiations. As part of that project, Crowley helped create Many Strong Voices, a coalition between Arctic peoples and small island states.

Crowley has also travelled across the Arctic — as far as the North Pole — by dog sled team.