Qikiqtani Inuit Association to receive $270M in conservation funding
Jobs, infrastructure to support environmental protection throughout region
Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk announces the signing of the SINAA Agreement Thursday in Montreal. (Screenshot courtesy of CPAC)
Inuit-led conservation efforts in various marine ecosystems in the Qikiqtani Region received a $270-million funding commitment Thursday from the federal government and other donors.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Qikiqtani Inuit Association president Olayuk Akesuk announced the signing of the SINAA Agreement in Montreal.
Sinaa is an Inuktitut term meaning “the floe edge.”
The money includes $200 million from the federal government for conservation across approximately 800 square kilometres of the region’s land and waters.
That money, which is also set to go to Inuit governance and employment, is paired with $70 million pledged from national and international philanthropic donations through Pew Charitable Trusts and the Enduring Earth network.
A map created using satellite imagery from 2015 shows the open water of the North Water Polynya, also known as Pikialasorsuaq. (David Fuglestad / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons)
“Today, we are reaching a historic milestone in Canadian history,” said Akesuk.
“The agreement signed today sets the foundations for Inuit-led and governed conservation efforts to protect our culture, lands, waters, and wildlife.”
The agreement outlines a conservation plan that proposes several new protected and conserved areas and enhanced protections for other existing areas.
It also includes support for Inuit stewardship, including infrastructure investment and support for Inuit-led regional governance.
One of these 11 identified conservation and protection areas, known as Sarvarjuaq, runs along a stretch of coast east of Grise Fiord and Resolute Bay, northeast of Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet, and northwest of Clyde River.
This species-rich area represents the Canadian share of an 85,000-square-kilometre expanse of year-round open water between Baffin Island and Greenland known as the Pikialasorsuaq Polynya, which is integral for food security in the surrounding communities.
All the conservation initiatives named in the agreement will be guided by the Qikiqtani Inuit Protected and Conserved Areas Plan, a document founded on input from all the region’s communities.
The goal is for it to conform to the conservation plans unique to each of the 13 Qikiqtani communities.
“The Canadian Arctic has been home to vibrant ecosystems and Indigenous communities for generations,” said Trudeau.
“We are strengthening our commitment to protecting lands, waters, and wildlife, honouring Inuit-led conservation efforts, and walking forward on the shared path of reconciliation.”
Qikiqtani Inuit Association estimates the money will attract an additional $188 million in investment to the Qikiqtani Region, which will help support 50 new jobs, the association said Thursday in a news release.
Congratulations QIA! This region has been so proactive and negotiating with mines, governments for a decade or so now, and it’s starting to come through, the future looks bright for this region.
Baffin is out here cutting deals with governments and private funders to protect land and water, maintaining working relationships with mining companies and making sure Inuit are in the driver’s seat.
Meanwhile, Kivalliq can’t see past the next mine or that stupid hydro link and selling off the land without a plan for the future. And Kitikmeot? Can’t even get it together enough to show up.
Ya? And where does the magic money that funds all the services come from?
Hint: It’s not crayon drawings.