Welcome to the NWT State of the Environment
Report on the web.
It is important to the people of the Northwest Territories to have a healthy environment to live in and to form the basis for a healthy economy. A state of the environment report can tell us if our environment is changing and where action may be needed to address problems.
Understanding our world is key to making informed decisions now and in the future. The goal of the NWT State of the Environment Report is to provide information about our changing environment to identify trends and help make decisions so NWT residents can continue to enjoy clean air and productive forests, land, waters and wildlife.
Objectives
The specific objectives of the NWT State of the Environment Report are to:
- Provide an assessment of environmental status and trends in the NWT
- Provide data and information for territorial, national, and international state of the environment initiatives
- Provide an early-warning system of possible impacts resulting from environmental change
Everything in our environment is interconnected. There is no single measure that tells us how the environment is doing. We need to look at a wide range of different environmental components and how they relate to each other to make sense of the whole picture. The NWT State of the Environment Report provides detailed information on our environment to help us understand what is happening in our changing world.
The report provides information on the state of specific indicators of our environment and, where possible, looks at what changes have occurred over time and what changes we might expect in the future. Currently, most of the indicators in the report are science-based. In some cases, the report provides information on how the NWT compares to other parts of Canada or other parts of the world. Data and information included in the NWT State of the Environment Report comes from a wide range of agencies and published sources. The report provides links to the original sources of information and contact information so you can find more information on each topic.
The 2009 State of the Environment Highlight Report summarizes some of the key findings that came out of the State of the Environment Report and presents some of the insights gained from analysing this information.
The web-based report will be updated whenever new information becomes available.
Provide your input – contact NWTSOER@gov.nt.ca
For additional information on the state of the NWT’s environment go to:
- Mackenzie River Basin Board - www.mrbb.ca
- NWT Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (Indian and Northern Affairs) – www.nwtcimp.ca
How is the information organized?
The NWT State of the Environment Report is organized into four sections:
Driving Forces
This section deals with global phenomena that influence human activities. The focal points look at changes in global climate and weather patterns, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, populations and economies.
Pressures
This section describes specific human activities that act as pressures on
our environment. Focal points included in this section analyse trends in human travel, industrial development, human-caused landscape changes, and levels of solid waste and contaminants
State
This section describes measurable impacts on the environment from driving forces and pressures. Focal points look at the state of our air, water, vegetation, wildlife, species at risk and genetic resources.
Stewardship
The final section identifies stewardship actions that can reduce the impact of driving forces and pressures and thus improve the state of our environment. Gathering country foods and participating in traditional economies that provide healthier lifestyles and reduce import of goods, environmental education programs that create awareness, and land conservation are all stewardship activities.
Indicators
Each Focal Point in the NWT State of the Environment Report includes one or more Indicators. Indicators were chosen to communicate key information on the NWT environment in a way that is relevant to the people of the NWT. Indicators can be used to show trends over time, allow comparisons between different regions, help judge the sustainability of current practices, and define and publicize new standards and measures for assessing progress toward a sustainable future.
Future reports will expand to include additional indicators on the state of the NWT environment
Linking to other programs
Many selected indicators for this report are already used in the Northwest Territories, in Canada, and around the world to share information and measure progress toward a sustainable future. The indicators provided in this webpage will be useful to the following programs and organizations:
New Ecozone Classification for the NWT
The NWT is developing a new ecologically-based landscape classification to help organize our environmental assessments, monitoring and decision making. This new ecological classification is presented within a framework for continental North America that divides the NWT into six ‘ecological regions’ or ecozones. This new classification is also called Ecozones Plus.
The names and boundaries of the new NWT ecozones are currently under revision and will change as more information becomes available. The NWT State of the Environment Report uses this new classification to report information on each indicator. The NWT State of the Environment Report uses this new information.
