Photo: ITK and ICC at international conservation meeting

John Cheechoo, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami’s director of environment and wildlife, and Inuit Circumpolar Council representatives Vernon Amos and Larry Carpenter of Sachs Harbour are attending the International Union for the Conservation of Nature 5th World Conservation Congress in Jeju, South Korea, from Sept. 6 to Sept. 16. The Congress, held every four years, aims to improve management of the natural environment for human, social and economic development. During the assembly, a motion sponsored by ITK asks that the IUCN Council create an indigenous peoples’ organization membership and voting category within the organization. ITK will also participate in a Knowledge Café, a roundtable discussion on Inuit sustainable use and management of Arctic species and the role of traditional knowledge. ITK will also host a discussion at the forum’s “Species Pavilion” on Arctic species conservation and Inuit knowledge and livelihoods. (PHOTO COURTESY OF ITK)