Vital sea-ice habitat recognized with UNESCO nod

Area is projected to become a refuge for wildlife as planet warms

IQALUIT, Dec. 20, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In response to Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s announcement that part of the Last Ice Area will be included on the tentative list advanced to UNESCO for consideration as a potential World Heritage Site, Paul Crowley, vice-president of Arctic conservation for World Wildlife Fund Canada, said:

“Advancing Sirmilik National Park and the proposed Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area for consideration as a World Heritage Site is an important development toward safeguarding conservation measures in the Arctic. The site is part of the Last Ice Area, which WWF identified as a refuge for ice-dependent wildlife such as polar bears, narwhals and seals as the planet warms. It’s also of great cultural importance for Inuit, who must be involved in the management and stewardship of the area.

“WWF-Canada has been working with Parks Canada to develop a World Heritage Site proposal for the Last Ice Area promoting the cultural and ecological value of the region. We are proud to see that vision advanced today in the minister’s announcement, and we will continue to work with Inuit organizations and communities to safeguard the future of this vital habitat.”

About the Last Ice Area:

• The latest scientific projections show that, due to global warming, summer sea ice in the Arctic Ocean will be largely gone within a generation. This will alter a whole ecosystem dependent on sea ice.
• The exception is likely to be the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland, the last stronghold of summer sea ice.
• Ice-dependent species include polar bears, walrus, some seals, narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales.
• The region added to the tentative list today includes Sirmilik National Park and the proposed Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation Area.

About UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• Official World Heritage Site designation is a lengthy process. The Last Ice Area is now on Canada’s tentative list, an inventory of sites of cultural or natural importance within the country.
• The tentative list is a forecast of sites that the country may submit for official consideration within the next five to 10 years. The next step for the Last Ice Area will be preparing a nomination file, if the government chooses to do so.
• Designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site can only be designated after conservation plans are in place.
• Other UNESCO World Heritage sites in Canada include Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland and Nahanni National Park in the Northwest Territories. Globally, sites include the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

About World Wildlife Fund Canada

WWF-Canada creates solutions to the environmental challenges that matter most for Canadians. We work in places that are unique and ecologically important, so that nature, wildlife and people thrive together. Because we are all wildlife. For more information, visit wwf.ca.

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7973b3e2-1e26-4c5b-887b-4c79ffba320b

Catharine Tunnacliffe
                    World Wildlife Fund Canada
                    +1 647 624 5279
                    ctunnacliffe@wwfcanada.org