Indigenous peoples have been stewards and managers of the land, water, and ice, and leaders in nature conservation since time immemorial. The governments of Canada, the provinces, and the territories are working together with Indigenous peoples to increase the amount of nature protected from coast to coast to coast.
Today, at COP15, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change; the Honourable Shane Thompson, Northwest Territories Minister of Environment and Natural Resources; and Danny Gaudet, Ɂek'wahtı̨dǝ́ (Chief), Délı̨nę Got'ı̨nę Government, signed a letter of intent to support the establishment of the Sahtú K'aowe Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area around Great Bear Lake (Tsá Tué) in the Northwest Territories.
Tsá Tué is the eighth largest lake in the world, and it is culturally significant for the Dene peoples and ecologically valuable for Canada. The lake straddles the Arctic Circle and is surrounded by boreal forest. The lake is larger than 31,000 km2, which represents approximately 0.3 percent of Canada's land mass, and is one of the most ecologically intact ecosystems in the world. The Tsá Tué watershed provides important habitat for iconic Canadian species, like muskox, moose, and caribou, among others.
This project supports Indigenous-led conservation and could make a significant contribution toward Canada's conservation targets. The lake is seen as sacred by the people of Délı̨nę, who view it as a living being.
This is just one of example of how the Government of Canada is working with Indigenous partners to help conserve nature and address biodiversity loss, as the world convenes in Montréal for the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity. COP15 presents an opportunity for Canada to show its leadership in taking action to conserve nature and halt biodiversity loss around the world.
