Green Party pleased with new marine protected area

The Green Party of Canada is very pleased that the process for designating the Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area has reached a successful conclusion.  “Tarium Niryutait is a key area for protecting our Arctic biodiversity and particularly the Beluga whale.  We are very grateful to the many people who were involved in this collaborative process,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May. “We commend Prime Minister Harper for protecting this significant area of the in the Beaufort Sea.”
 
Planning for marine protection in the Beaufort Sea began in 1999, with extensive consultation and collaboration with such groups as the Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, the Inuvialuit Game Council, the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and local stakeholders and governments.
 
The 1,800 square kilometre Tarium Niryutait Marine Protected Area contains three areas: Niaqunnaq, Okeevik, and Kittigaryuit.
 
“With the risks to the western Arctic from climate change, it is imperative that we set aside areas to protect biodiversity,” said May.  “Protected areas will help maintain the resilience of this natural area so that it can better adapt to the coming changes in climate.”
 
The Beaufort Sea is an incredibly rich and diverse ecosystem.  The Green Party knows this new protected area is a step in the right direction.  The North is already experiencing high levels of development pressure from oil, gas and mining; these are expected to increase as the ice melts, with additional pressures arising from commercial shipping, fishing, and tourism.  We need to continue to establish protected areas - terrestrial, marine, and ice - with the partnership of indigenous peoples, so that there exists an ecologically-representative network in the three northern Territories.

Additional Comment:

"The Green Party is outraged by the duplicitous move in setting aside a portion of Arctic beluga habitat for oil and gas development.  Seismic testing is very damaging to cetaceans, as it can cause permanent hearing loss, and loss of location ability.  You cannot protect belugas in the same area in which you are developing oil and gas. We demanded that the Harper government extend protection of beluga with a moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.   Had we known that the government was violating the essence of declaring a Marine Protected Area by excluding a zone to allow oil and gas in the Arctic, we would not have applauded what we believed to be a significant conservation
achievement."
 
Elizabeth May, Leader of Green Party of Canada

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Contact:
Debra Eindiguer
Press Secretary
613-240-8921
media@greenparty.ca