Nunatsiaq News: Inuit to help manage marine conservation area
QIA gets $900K to run Guardian program in Lancaster Sound
Inuit will help manage the new Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area through a new Guardian program to be run by the Qikiqtani Inuit Association.
On Wednesday, Parks Canada announced up to $900,000 in funding for the Qikiqtani Inuit Association to operate a pilot Guardian program to involve Inuit in managing the new conservation area.
Tallurutiup Imanga, the Inuktitut name for Lancaster Sound in Canada’s High Arctic, is the newest and largest marine protected area in Canada. Its boundaries were established in August 2017. The vast area of ocean and land has been home to Inuit for thousands of years, as well as a unique ecosystem of migrating birds, fish, polar bears and whales.
“Inuit, government and non-government organizations have sought to protect this area for decades,” said a July 18 press release from QIA.
The proposed borders of Tallurutiup Imanga touch on Grise Fiord, Resolute Bay, Arctic Bay, Pond Inlet and Clyde River. Tallurutiup Imanga will also surround parts of Sirmilik National Park, two migratory bird sanctuaries and one national wildlife area. Both of these have been added to Canada’s list of tentative UNESCO world heritage sites.
