The Qikiqtani Inuit Association (QIA), with the support of the Pew Environment Group’s Oceans North Canada campaign and with financial support from the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, will be working together to improve our knowledge of the Arctic’s marine environment.

The organizations will work specifically on two projects. One is a workshop that will examine co-management models for marine protected areas in the Arctic. This workshop will take place in the Lancaster Sound region. The other involves the transfer of traditional knowledge collected over much of the 20th century from Inuit into geographic information services (GIS).

“Lancaster Sound has been compared to the Serengeti because of the size and diversity of its marine wildlife. The Inuit have always argued for its protection and we take our role in its preservation seriously. That is why we are pleased to work with Oceans North Canada and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation towards this common goal,” said QIA President Okalik Eegeesiak.

“My Foundation is a strong supporter of marine protection. We understand the importance of the long term viability of marine resources to Inuit and we agree that Inuit must retain a leadership role in the protection of this marine region,” said H.S.H Prince Albert II of Monaco.

“This visit is more proof of the relevance of Arctic marine ecosystems to the world. We are very pleased that the Prince Albert II Foundation understands that people are linked to this environment and that Inuit must play the lead role in conservation in the North,” said Chris Debicki, Nunavut Director for Oceans North Canada.

The workshop aims to bring together leading policy makers, political leaders and planners involved in the establishment of contemporary marine protected areas. Inparticular, the workshop will showcase ocean protection strategies that retain leading roles for Inuit.

In the second project, Oceans North Canada will be committing expertise, training and technology to assist QIA in transferring archival records into GIS applications. The aim is to provide QIA and other regional decision-makers with powerful software tools that can combine traditional knowledge sources with present-day knowledge to better inform future land and marine use questions facing the Inuit of this region.

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For further information, please contact:

Craig Welsh
Director of Communications
Tel: (867) 975-8416
Fax: (867) 979-3238
E-mail: cwelsh@qia.ca

Chris Debicki
Nunavut Director for Oceans North Canada
Tel: (204) 222-2654
E-mail: cdebicki@oceansnorth.ca