Protected Areas & Land Use Plans

Protected areas and land use plans control where certain activities can take place and therefore largely determine what the human impacts on the landscape will be. They are key tools for carrying out stewardship activities such as conserving biodiversity, wildlife habitats, species at risk, ecological processes, cultures and traditional lifestyles.

Indicators on the percentage of land protected or under land use plans are standard reporting for national and international State of Environment reports. Tracking stewardship and progress with respect to local decision-making is part of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

20.1. Trends in Protected Areas and Land Use Plans

This indicator tracks the amount of land set aside for conservation purposes through protected areas and land use plans.

The World Conservation Union defines a protected area as “an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means"8. This definition was applied in selecting protected areas to report on.

The geo-referenced data for this indicator is obtained from the Protected Areas Stategy, Natural Resources Canada, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, The Atlas of Canada, the Centre for Geomatics, Government of the Northwest Territories, Gwich’in Land Use Planning Board, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Comprehensive Claims Branch, Sahtu GIS Project and Sahtu Land Use Planning Board. Environment and Natural Resources, GNWT compiled the data, and calculated each reported indicator value.

NWT Focus

Through its Sustainable Development Policy, in place since 1997, the Government of the Northwest Territories recognizes the need for conservation areas to maintain special values related to wildlife and wildlife habitat, unique or representative ecosystems, prime forests, productive agricultural soils, and heritage, recreational, tourism, scientific, and aesthetic resources6.

Since 1999, the NWT has had a Protected Areas Strategy, which is a partnership among communities, governments, environmental non-governmental organizations and industry. The partners work together to establish protected areas across the NWT9. The goals of the NWT Protected Areas Strategy are to protect:

• Special natural and cultural areas of the NWT, and
• Core representative areas within each ecoregion of the NWT, in which resource based development will not be permitted.

An ecoregion is an area defined by similar climate, vegetation, geology and other ecological patterns.  There are 42 different ecoregions in the NWT4. The NWT Protected Areas Strategy does not set a target for the percentage of land that should be protected.

Settled land claims increase capacity and clarify the process for local decision-making, and therefore facilitate local stewardship. In some areas in the NWT with settled land claims, regional land use plans have been or are being prepared. Regional land use plans specify which land use activities are allowed in a given area. Generally, regional land use plans designate some areas where development is prohibited. These areas are Conservation Zones. An approved land use plan is legally binding on all parties. However, legislation requires land use plans be reviewed every five years and they can be changed at that time. There is an approved land use plan in place for the Gwich’in Settlement Area, pursuant to the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act⁷. Other land use planning processes are underway in the Sahtu Settlement Area and the Dehcho Territory3,12.

Legislated protected areas and Conservation Zones are key components in an overall network of protected areas that serves the long-term interests of NWT residents and all Canadians. They are key tools for conserving biodiversity, ecological processes, and special natural and cultural values. Reporting on protected areas and land use plans reflects actions that society has taken to maintain a healthy and productive environment.

Current status and trend

The NWT has several protected areas including lands administered by federal, territorial, and Aboriginal governments. They differ in their management plans and in the type of protection. For some, both surface and subsurface rights are withdrawn (so that no development is allowed), while for others only surface rights are withdrawn.

There are currently 129,230 km² of land (including fresh water) in the NWT in established protected areas and Conservation Zones (9.6% of the NWT land base; Table 1 and Figure 1). This includes the Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, National Parks, National Park Reserves, Pingo Canadian Landmark, Gwich’in Conservation Zones and Heritage Conservation Zones, Migratory Bird Sanctuaries, Territorial Parks, Territorial Park Reserves, and areas protected under land claim agreements. Interim land withdrawals are not included. Only areas larger than 10 km² are included. Table 2 and Figure 2 give protection by ecozone. An additional 2,130 km² of marine water is protected in Liverpool Bay under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement1.

The amount of land in the NWT in established protected areas and Conservation Zones has increased by 39,340 km², or 2.9% of the NWT land base, over the last eight years (Table 1). Major changes since 2003 are:

• Establishment of Ezôdzìtì, an area protected under the Tlicho Agreement2;
• Expansion of Tuktut Nogait National Park into the Sahtu Settlement Area;
• Approval of Conservation Zones in the Gwich’in Land Use Plan and 2010 revision (subject to review every 5 years7);
• Establishment of Saoyú / ?ehdacho National Historic Site; and
• Expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve

Amount and percentage of land in the NWT in established protected areas and Conservation Zones.

• a - National Parks, Nahanni National Park Reserve, Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary, and Ezôdzìtì (an area protected under the Tlicho Agreement)
• b - Conservation Zones larger than 10 km² in the approved Gwich’in Land Use Plan (including Heritage Conservation Zones)
• c - Migratory Bird Sanctuaries larger than 10 km² (not including overlaps with National Parks), Territorial Parks larger than 10 km², Doi T’oh (CANOL Trail) Territorial Park Reserve, Kelly Lake (an area protected under the Sahtu Dene and Metis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement), and Pingo Canadian Landmark
• d - Waters of Husky Lakes and Liverpool Bay (an area protected under the Inuvialuit Final Agreement)
• e - Liverpool Bay is excluded from the percentage of the NWT land base because it is marine

Land protection in the NWT by ecozone using ‘ecozones plus’. Note that Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake are included in total ecozone size. Marine areas are excluded.

Established protected areas and Conservation Zones larger than 10 km2 in the NWT (as of March 2003).

Established protected areas and Conservation Zones larger than 10 km2 in the NWT (February 2010).

Amount of ecozones covered by established protected areas and Conservation Zones (as of May 2011). Percentages are based on the NWT portions of ecozones and marine areas are excluded.

Looking forward

Protected areas and land use planning are underway and will increase land protection in the NWT. Protected areas are moving through both the Protected Areas Strategy and the National Parks process. Land use plans are being drafted in three regions of the NWT, all of which include zones that provide for protection of lands in those regions.

The Protected Areas Strategy's Five-Year Action Plan was released in 2005 with the goal of reserving a network of culturally significant and ecologically representative protected areas prior to or concurrent with the development of the proposed Mackenzie Valley Pipeline10. To build on the Mackenzie Valley Five-Year Action Plan, the Protected Areas Strategy released the Establishment Action Plan 2010-2015 in June 2010 with the goal of enhancing the implementation of the Protected Areas Strategy in a co-ordinated and co-operative way¹¹. As sites move through the Protected Areas Strategy process, there needs to be continual co-operation amongst various stakeholders. This coordination and co-operation must happen not only at the candidate area working group level before establishment but also at the government level during establishment and continues after establishment as sites move towards management and monitoring.

Since the beginning of the Protected Areas Strategy, 23 areas have been identified. As of May 2011, 10 areas remain active and one site has been permanently protected. Some of these areas have interim protection, which means that no new development permits can be issued for a specified period of time.

In addition to areas proposed under the Protected Areas Strategy, Parks Canada has identified additional areas of interest for two new National Parks, which also have interim protection. Land use plans are being developed for the Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Territory, and Tlicho settlement lands. The Inuvialuit have established a Marine Protected Area in the Beaufort Sea.

Figure 3 shows all the protected areas in the NWT currently being considered for protection. These areas are at various stages of protection and some are under interim protection. They may not all become protected areas or zones for protection in land use plans, and boundaries illustrated are subject to change. New areas may also be identified.

Some other areas are covered by special designations, such as Community Conservation Plans and Heritage Rivers, which give guidance for how the land should be managed but do not offer legislated protection.

Areas in the NWT that are either established or being considered for protection as of May 2011 through land use planning, the Protected Areas Strategy, and the National Parks process. Boundaries illustrated are subject to change.

Looking around

A National Protected Areas Status Report published in 2006 ranked the NWT 5th of the 13 provinces and territories in Canada in terms of the percentage of land protected5. Some areas under interim protection were included in that report’s calculations.

NWT information for this indicator is used by the following organizations and programs:

Canadian Protected Areas Status Report by Environment Canada
Reported every 5 years http://www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/default.asp?lang=En&xml=5A5F8028-B497-4441-92DE-4015F1E4F5D1

Conservation Areas Reporting and Tracking System of the CCEA
Reported every year
http://www.ccea.org/en_carts.html

Find out more

• For more information on: NWT Protected Areas Strategy visit http://www.nwtpas.ca
• National Parks visit http://www.pc.gc.ca
• Territorial Parks visit http://www.iti.gov.nt.ca
• Regional Land Use Planning visit http://www.gwichinplanning.nt.ca/index.html, http://www.sahtulanduseplan.org, and http://www.dehcholands.org/
• Marine Protected Areas visit http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/oceans/marineareas-zonesmarines/mpa-zpm/index-eng.htm
• Existing protected areas elsewhere in Canada see Canadian Protected Areas Status Report 2000-2005, http://www.ec.gc.ca/Publications/default.asp?lang=En&xml=5A5F8028-B497-4441-92DE-4015F1E4F5D1

Technical Notes

The individual areas included in statistics are given in Table 3. In addition to the areas listed, the NWT has one Migratory Bird Sanctuary, 30 Territorial Parks and 10 Heritage Conservation Zones that are all smaller than 10 km² each. Only those areas larger than 10 km² are included in area calculations and maps. Banks Island Migratory Bird Sanctuary No. 2 is not included because it overlaps with Aulavik National Park. The Mackenzie Bison Sanctuary is not included because it does not have legislated land protection (neither surface nor subsurface rights are withdrawn). All sizes in this report are approximate; sizes >100 km² have been rounded off to the nearest 10 km².

Area calculations are affected by the source, scale and projection of the base data and the protected area data used. In this report, only established protected areas and Conservation Zones are included; areas with interim land withdrawals are excluded. For these reasons, there may be differences in numbers between this and other reports.

All sizes were calculated using the Albers equal area projection, NAD 83 datum, 1st standard parallel: 62 degrees N, 2nd standard parallel: 70 degrees N. Geospatial data were from the following sources:

• NWT Boundary: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, The Atlas of Canada. 2005. National Scale Frameworks Administrative Boundaries, Canada. 1:1 million scale. Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON. Available at http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/index.html.
• Waterbodies: Natural Resources Canada, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, The Atlas of Canada. 2003. National Scale Frameworks Hydrology - Drainage Network, Canada. 1:1 million scale. Government of Canada, Ottawa, ON. Available at http://geogratis.cgdi.gc.ca/geogratis/en/index.html.
• National Parks and Thelon Wildlife Sanctuary: Northwest Territories Center for Geomatics. 1995. 1:250,000 scale. Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT.
• Northwest Territories Protected Area Strategy. 2008. 1:1 million scale. Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories. Yellowknife, NT. 
• Gwich’in Conservation Zones and Heritage Conservation Zones: Gwich’in Land Use Planning Board. 2003, Revised 2010. 1:250,000 scale. Gwich’in Land Use Planning Board, Inuvik, NT.
• Ezôdzìtì: Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, Comprehensive Claims Branch. 2003. Dene/Métis Land Selection Office, Yellowknife, NT.
• Kelly Lake and Doi T’oh (CANOL Trail) Territorial Park Reserve: Sahtu GIS Project and Sahtu Land Use Planning Board. 2007. Sahtu GIS Project, Norman Wells, NT.
• Husky Lakes and Liverpool Bay: Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy. 2008. 1:1 million scale. Environment and Natural Resources, Government of the Northwest Territories, Yellowknife, NT.

References

Ref 1 - 1984. The Western Arctic Claim: The Inuvialuit Final Agreement. Amended in 1988.

Ref 2 - 2002. Tlicho Agreement.

Ref 3 - Dehcho Land Use Planning Committee. 2008. Respect for the Land: The Dehcho Land Use Plan. Final Draft Plan - May 2006.

Ref 4 - Ecological Stratification Working Group. 1996. A National Ecological Framework for Canada.

Ref 5 - Environment Canada. 2006. Canadian Protected Areas Status Report 2000-2005.

Ref 6 - Government of the Northwest Territories. 2005. Sustainable Development Policy.

Ref 7 - Gwich'in Land Use Planning Board. 2003. Nành Geenjit Gwitr'it T'igwaa'in, Working for the Land - The Gwich'in Land Use Plan.

Ref 8 - IUCN - The World Conservation Union and the World Commission on Protected Areas, 1994, Guidelines for Protected Area Management Categories,

Ref 9 - Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy Advisory Committee. 1999. Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy: A Balanced Approach to Establishing Protected Areas in the Northwest Territories.

Ref 10 - Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy Secretariat. 2003. Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy Mackenzie Valley Five-Year Action Plan (2004-2009): Conservation Planning for Pipeline Development.
 
Ref 11 - Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy Secretariat. 2010. Northwest Territories Protected Areas Strategy Establishment Action Plan 2010-2015.

Ref 12 - Sahtu Land Use Planning Board. 2010. Sahtu Land Use Plan - Draft 3.

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