Photo: Mark Mallory Incorporating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) in zoning for Tallurutiup Imanga Olivia Choi Marine Affairs Program, Dalhousie University August 31, 2018 Tallurutiup Imanga • Major east-west waterway in Canadian Arctic • ~3,600 people live in five adjacent communities • Land-, sea- and ice-scape • Ice is predominant feature providing ecological and cultural connectivity across region Photo: Parks Canada 2018 1 Ecological and cultural significance • Internationally recognized for ecological and cultural values • Place of sustenance for Inuit for millenia • Critical habitat for bowhead, beluga, narwhal and polar bears • Feeding and breeding ground for seabirds • Polynyas vital for development of ice edge ecosystems Photo: Radio Canada International 2018 2 Toward protection of Tallurutiup Imanga • 1960s – Inuit initiated efforts for protection • 1980s – International recognition for ecological and cultural importance • 1990 – Lancaster Sound Regional Land Use Plan • 2009 – Memorandum of Understanding to pursue protection • 2010 – Government of Canada proposed boundary of 44,300 km2 • 2011 – Consultations and feasibility study began • 2017 – Feasibility study completed and boundary expanded to 110,000 km2 • 2018 – Consultations for Inuit Impact and Benefit Agreement (IIBA) and interim management plan • 2019 – IIBA complete and official NMCA designation 3 NMCA Legislation • Tallurutiup Imanga NMCA established and managed under Canada National Marine Conservation Areas Act • Type of marine protected area administered by Parks Canada • Harmonization of protection, conservation and sustainable use of resources • Prohibits oil and gas exploration and development • Commercial and recreational fishing, shipping and tourism permitted and regulated under federal legislation 4 Nunavut Land Claims Agreement • Dictates nature of activities within Nunavut, including land use planning and conservation • Article 8 (Parks) – provisions related to involvement of Inuit, park management, IIBAs • Incorporation of IQ in planning and management • Right to harvest wildlife and access to land for harvesting Photo: Diane Blanchard 5 Zoning • NMCAs intended for multi-use through zoning • Interim management plan will include preliminary zoning plan • Parks Canada zoning system • Zone 1 – Special Preservation • Zone 2 – Wilderness • Zone 3 – Natural Environment • NLCA requires predominantly Zone 1 and 2 areas • Ongoing consultations to develop zoning plan 6 Community concerns • Protecting resources for current and future generations • Food security, shipping impacts, climate change, oil spills, lack of response capabilities • QIA created an important areas map using weighted conservation values expressed by communities • Polar bear, narwhal, seal, beluga, Photo: Flip Nicklin/Minden Pictures walrus, floe edge, bowhead, ice calving area, routes/campsites, polynya and old ice Source: QIA. (2014). Integrating Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) in decision making: IQ mapping for the Lancaster Sound NMCA. 7 My research • Mapping IQ to identify traditional harvesting areas within the NMCA • Understanding spatial and temporal interactions between shipping and Inuit land use patterns to inform park management • Focus on communities of Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet Photo: Radio Canada International 2018 8 Mapping Inuit-use areas • Historical and present data on land use and harvesting • Nunavut Atlas 1992 – land use intensity, species, campsites, seasonality • NWMB Harvest Study 1996-2001 – harvesting levels and land use patterns • QIA pilot monitoring project 2017-2018 (Pond Inlet) – harvests and sightings • Inuit Heritage Trust – place names • Travel routes • Nunavut Planning Commission – polynyas 9 Digitization of Nunavut Atlas maps 10 11 12 13 14 Identifying important harvesting areas • Allocated weights to values using information collected by QIA from Arctic Bay and Pond Inlet • Weights • Land use intensity – high (3), medium (2), low (1) • Species – polar bear (3), narwhal (3), seal (3), other (2) • Polynyas (2) • Place names referring to polar bear, narwhal, seal, camps and travel routes given weight of (3), other (2) • Travel routes and campsites (3) • Sum of all data layers 15 16 Mapping vessel traffic • exactEarth AIS vessel tracking data from 2014-2017 • Trajectories computed at threshold of 120 minutes at ≤30 knots or ≤5km 17 18 19 Annual snow, ice, water and harvesting cycles 20 Source: Lancaster Sound Regional Land Use Plan 1991 Trends and interactions in uses • Important harvesting areas concentrated in coastal areas • Travel routes connecting land and sea are important use areas for harvesting • Overlap in migration routes and vessel traffic Source: Richard Olsenius/Getty Images 21 Next steps • Determining buffer distances for travel routes and place names • Seasonal harvesting and vessel traffic maps (sea ice vs. open water) • How do important harvesting areas vary throughout the year? • Seasonal variations in level and type of interaction between ships and traditional harvesting? • How to manage important marine and coastal areas adjacent to the NMCA? • How can Inuit land use/harvesting maps inform low-impact shipping corridors? 22.